Paths of Darkness Plus
by Steamrollers Solve All
Summary: Meh.  I'm going back and revising chapters, improving dialog, redoing scenes... yeah.  I feel I screwed up in a few places, BS'd in others, and I'm finally fixing them.  [Chapters 1 through 13 fixed]  Planning on adding an epilogue soon.
1. The path is set

A/N: Here I am, writing my fifth fanfiction (fourth on To explain the beginning, I am writing a story and wished to do a backstory on one of the characters. Hope you enjoy.

It was a quiet, cold night in the city on a volcano. A city named Ectratin. In one of the hospitals, screams of agony ripped through the walls, but they were necessary. A legend was about to be born.

"Keep breathing!" said a black-robed man as he aided a woman in childbirth. "You have to keep fighting, just like you have your entire life! Fight for these last few moments!"

The woman continued her valiant struggle to give birth to her son. He would be a great assassin, an outstanding member of the Commandos. She looked almost human, save for her eyes. Her pupils were a healthy shade of white while her scleras were pitch black. That was normal for a Darkinarki, however, and the woman continued breathing, struggling, _fighting_.

"Almost there," said the man as he held the head of the newborn child as it came out. "He's coming out right now…" but his voice trailed off.

"Wh…what's wrong? Enteria…what's wrong?" the woman's voice held panic, but Enteria Ciercin looked at the baby and its mother with solemn eyes.

"It's…" Enteria said as the rest of it came out, "a girl…" This birth now created a dangerous path; for the child was born with a pure black Soul-Flame. If the child had been a boy, at least he would have been more predictable if he succumbed to it…but a female's black Soul-Flame was a hub for many paths…

The woman paused for a moment before speaking again. "You must promise me Enteria!" shouted the woman as consciousness drained from her eyes, "My daughter will not be a monster!"

Enteria paused. He was not his grandfather. He was no warrior. If this girl turned, then Hell could break loose. Still, he had to live up to his name. "I will do what I can. I promise you that she will…"

The woman nodded and smiled. "Her name," she said as her eyes closed she fell asleep, "is Miki."

Enteria looked at the red-haired baby girl. _Miki Owikamki_, he thought, _just pippy_.

* * *

Enteria sat down at a table later that night, young Miki in his arms. Around the table was a black-garbed man with eyes in the Darkinarki, a pale man with black hair, and the mother.

"So it's a girl," said the pale man, revealing a pair of vampire fangs.

"Yes, Blaze, she is," Enteria said as he put the baby in a wooden cradle. The girl was asleep, sucking its thumb. "Which means while a male in the same situation would likely try a direct means of conquering, Miki here could do the same…or try subtler means."

"Indeed," Blaze said as he rubbed his eyes. It had been a long night, even for the king of the Vampires. Or at least, the Vampires of the city of Aniar. "What do we do? Kill her?"

"That's brutal!" said her mother as she looked at her daughter. "Are we just going to kill her because of what she might become? A seductive freak that will betray us?"

"What do you propose we do, Akura? Wait to see what happens, and in the meantime watch as Owikamki becomes stronger than all of us put together? In case you haven't noticed, that WILL happen."

"There's a difference between what I want to do and what you say I want to do, dammit!" Akura said, quieting when she realized Miki was beginning to move. "If she can use the darkness without being corrupted-"

"That's possible," Enteria mused as he decided to move the cradle outside of the room so the debate could continue without difficulty.

"Yet unlikely!" Blaze said as he turned to the black-garbed Darkinarki, who had been sitting there, thinking. "Master Kalazi, I apologize for my position. I know the Darkinarki Commandos are few, but do we really trust our existence to a girl who may bring about our deaths?"

Kalazi sat for another moment before moving. As head of the Darkinarki Commandos, his next actions would determine Miki's fate, possibly condemning all that they held dear. Still, the Trinity of Balance was slipping further and a Champion of Chaos had to come forward to restore Chaos, and therefore, Balance. Could Miki be that champion? Most likely not... but a little extra muscle here or there could help. "Enteria... I believe your ancestor proved over two hundred years ago that it never matters what your power is, just how you use it. We just have to make sure Miki doesn't get out of hand."

"And how do we do that?" Blaze asked. He had always trusted Kalazi, but he wondered just what could be done.

"We train her to be an Assassin…starting now. I know that we normally wait until the person in question can fight well, but can we take that chance? She starts training, but nothing is to be said about her black soul. She will find her path when she is not looking for it. After all, the others didn't know and that saved them. If she knows about it, then she will do everything to purify herself, which may cause her to deny who she is. And that is never a good idea. Akura…do you accept this decision?"

Akura sat there; now it was her turn to be thinking. She nodded after some time. "She's my daughter. I just don't want her to be some abomination." She looked at Enteria and Kalazi. "Don't make her just a good automaton droid that's only learned how to kill. Give her a life, or her soul might as well be worthless."

Everyone looked at Enteria now. Ectratin was his city, he was the final say-so. "Very well then. She will be trained, starting tomorrow, and be disciplined in how to act. But she will be living with you, Akura. Blaze, I believe your son Flare is waiting for you home and you have a long road to travel."

"Yes," Blaze said as he refilled his thermos. What the uneducated would expect would be blood… but Alcemian vampires were not those of other worlds. "But as long as my road is," he continued as he opened the door, "Miki Owikamki's is even longer."

* * *

"Faster!" shouted Kalazi as five teenage Assassins charged at their target. This was an exercise for both the target and the five others, and Kalazi tossed razor-sharp obsidian knives at them all. To be a good Darkinarki, a member of the Commandos would have to harness the two skills that set a Darkinarki apart in the world of supernatural beings: obsidian fluids and "Chrono-Bending". Best to practice those while fighting here.

Darkinarkis developed a special fluid in their body, just below their epidermis. This was a substance not unsimilar to the glassy and sharp stone found near volcanoes. With training, a Darkinarki could expel this fluid out of their pores into blades for cutting, among other things.

The other ability, however, was as dreaded as abilities could be, for a Darkinarki could generate small black holes that could effect only specific targets. This technique permitted for bending time and increasing one's reflexes, allowing a top-ranked Assassin to evade gunfire effortlessly. There was a terrible price, however. The black holes could not effect anything organic save for their creators; if they did, then the creator would die instantly. Still, these two abilities were fundamental for an Assassin's success.

The five teenagers fell quickly, however, unable to keep up with their foe's speed. As they were knocked out, Kalazi looked as the victor slashed away the knives with her own blades, which were around her wrists. The nine-year old girl's red hair, tied up in a ponytail, fell down to the top of her back. She wore a black pair of pants and a matching black sleeveless top, and her inverted eyes looked at Kalazi's.

"Master Kalazi, have I done something wrong?" she asked. Her normal trainer had left during the fight, letting Kalazi take his place. She normally never saw Kalazi unless she screwed up or had to step up training again. The latter happened about once every eight months, while the former happened about twice a year. "I couldn't possibly have raised my rank so quickly…I-I mean I just became a Journeyman a few weeks ago!"

Kalazi kept on looking at her, forcing Miki to turn away. "How long have you known?" he asked, noting that her Soul-Flame was starting to be visible to anyone who looked hard enough. There were specks of white, green, and yellow in it, which shouldn't be there under any circumstances. Miki stood away from him, partly in fear, partly in shame. "_Miki, how long have you known?_" He walked up and turned her around, looking her again in the eyes.

Miki's face looked down, but Kalazi's hands quickly pushed them back up. "The other students…they're jealous…angry about how quickly I gain new ranks…they say it's because I got special treatment and started from birth. They say now it's from my Soul-Flame, how it's wrong. I try to pray…try to set it right…I've had some success. Haven't I?" Her eyes showed an innocence that was mixed with the fact Miki would soon be a full fledged Assassin…an executioner.

* * *

Kalazi sat down away from her and sighed. At least she had a heart. Having compassion and admitting something like that was half the battle. This screwed up his original plan, but he hoped it would work out. "I…don't know exactly what to do…but I'll talk to Enteria about it."

"And here you thought it was something bad," Enteria thought as he poured Kalazi and himself a yellow drink and tossed some ice in. "At least she lasted nine years before things got more complicated and she doesn't show any signs of being something sinister. How's she been these nine years? The Clerics are causing trouble again and I haven't had a chance to check on her."

Kalazi waited until after the glass slid off the table and grabbed it just before it hit the ground. Just too easy nowadays. He took a few sips and let the drink help him unwind. "She's incredible. Focus, discipline…"

"Using her body to get what she wants?" Enteria joked as he also took a few swigs of his own.

"Always the joker," Kalazi mused, "No. She has dignity about herself…she's just so damn arrogant. She learns so fast, and can beat somebody twice her strength and speed."

"How's that possible?" Enteria asked. He didn't know Miki was _this_ good. "Skill and techniques?"

"That's an understatement," Kalazi answered as he finished his drink and slid it back to Enteria across the table. Enteria was smart enough not to mimic Kalazi's acts of daring do. "She's cocky, slings insults in mid-battle, and knows how to feint techniques without putting herself in danger in battle. In a phrase, she's a combat genius. She could just focus on honing what she could do for the rest of her life and never get stronger or faster…and can be on the combat roster in three years."

"But then there's the soul," Enteria said as he slid the glass back, with just enough force that as it fell off the table again that it tipped and began spinning as it fell.

Kalazi grinned, ducked down, and scooped up the glass without spilling a drop. At least that time he had to Chrono-Bend. "You don't want to know what I'm planning."

"Why not?"

"Because Akura would never allow it, and Akura's still alive."

Enteria paused for a split second, dissecting just what Kalazi said. "You don't mean kill her?"

"I said nothing in there about killing her," Kalazi explained. "I'm saying we don't tell her about what Miki's going to have to go through until after we send her."

"And what would that be?" Enteria poured himself another glass. He'd forgotten just how good this stuff was.

"Centuries ago, Alchemists would search for the right salamanders by tossing them into the fire. I propose we see what happens when Miki's tossed into the Darkness."

Enteria's eyes opened wide as everything clicked. "Makai…" his voice trailed off. This was indeed something Akura would never allow. He'd heard Blaze tell stories about Makai when that group of Vampires still lived there before travelling through with an Inter-Spacial Matter Transporter to here. And now Miki, who had no actual combat experience, would have to go there. He quickly got back on track and continued. "So what do we do? We send her off with you for training there?"

Kalazi shook his head. "No. I can't risk abandoning the other students…and if the Clerics get itchier than they already are…there might not be an Ectratin to come back to. She'll have to go on her own. Enteria, I know how dangerous this is! We were already walking on thin ice, and now we're going to be stepping on thinner ice, but the prize is in sight, and it is wondrous!"

"What does she go with?" Enteria asked. Sometimes he just hated the ideas in Kalazi's head, no matter how sensible they were. "Healing equipment and some cash?" He began reaching down into a container and picked up twenty small silver coins. These were Dimensional Economic Units, or Deun for short. The currency was accepted almost anywhere, and Makai was no exception.

"No. No money. She goes with three sets of clothing and two mirror shards for healing. She'll have to conquer greed along with everything else. She's bound to make a friend or two there. I'm sure that person will have connections to bring her back."

"You're crazy, Kalazi. Plain and simple, you're crazy."

"No…just praying Miki can handle it."

* * *

"Are you willing to do this?" Kalazi asked as he stood before Miki, who was inside one of the Inter-Spacial Matter Transporters. "You will be alone, with no safe haven in that place, and many say that a human wouldn't last a day there."

Miki nodded. "Enteria is human, Master Kalazi. We're not. I'm sure I'll do fine there." She smiled before holding up the "V" of victory.

_So damn arrogant_, Kalazi thought as he handed Miki a pair of red tinted mirror shards. "You're aware with the Sacred Mirror's shards, correct?"

Again, Owikamki nodded. "Sure. If you're injured, so stab them into yourself and they heal you. I've been training for nine years; I know the basics!"

Kalazi nodded as Miki prepared to be transferred. He flipped a few switches as a door slammed open.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MIKI!" shouted Akura as she ran into the room. "I heard the rumors, you're sending her to that demon world!"

Kalazi quickly jumped in front of her, blocking her path. "Do you love your daughter?"

"What?" Kalazi's question had thrown her off.

"I said do you love your daughter? Because if you do, you will permit her to go through this trial by darkness! Only by seeing what Darkness truly is at its worst will shape Miki's soul now. Now please," he calmed down, "let her go."

Akura slumped. She hated doing this…but Kalazi was right. "Very well then. But she is my daughter…if something happens to her, then you're a dead-"

Kalazi nodded. "I'll hold you to it, because you'll be more merciful than what Miki might become." He flipped the last switch, and Miki was gone.

* * *

In a dark warehouse, a small black portal opened up and Miki fell out of it. _Didn't know my landing would be so graceful_, Miki thought, but a blast of gunfire snapped her out of it.

"What's the matter?" asked a red garbed girl about 13 years old as she gunned down a pair of child demons. "Where's your big bad father?" The guns blazed again, and when they stopped, she was the only thing moving.

_Wonder what's that all about_, Miki thought as she stepped out of the shadows and called out to the girl. If there was any problem, Miki was a good distance away and pillars were close by for cover. "Excuse me! Excuse me, ma'am, but I'm sort of new here and don't-"

But Miki didn't get the chance to finish as the girl named Bulleta "B.B" Hood opened fire with her automatics. Miki barely had the time to jump behind a pillar before the bullets hit her…even with Chrono-Bending put into account. "Hyper velocity bullets…and you dodged them," Bulleta smirked. "You're something special, or at least your speed is. A tad too young, but I don't get paid to question what I do."

_What the Hell was that?_ Miki thought as she looked around the pillar to see if she had cover to run. Something had shaken her very foundations. _Nine years of training…and I froze up there…another second and I would've died…just what have a gotten myself into?_

Next chapter: Miki discovers that the Assassin is now the hunted as she tries to play keep away with the gunslinging B.B. Then she has to get around the cities of Makai without getting killed, which isn't very easy, either. That and the werewolf that shares a similar fate as Miki will rear his lupine head in The Wolf, the Hunter, and the Hunted. Please read and review!


	2. The Wolf, the Hunter, and the Hunted

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Keep in mind this is set in canon Darkstalkers universe, so forget the Anime crap. Gamefaqs has information on the actual storyline. I don't own Darkstalkers.

Miki breathed heavy as she looked around a corner to try to locate her foe. Nothing. It was just too dark and Bulleta was no slouch in fighting.

"Anyone ever tell you…" Bulleta's voice said, "about the story about the three bastard demons and the wonderful Darkhunter that tracked them down?"

_She's trying to lure me out…freak me out…_ Miki thought as she expelled fluid from her wrists into the shape of wrist blades. _And she's doing a damn good job at the latter…_ This wasn't like back home. The Darkhunter wasn't going to show mercy, and she wasn't going to let Miki get close enough to use her blades. As the Darkinarki jumped over to another pillar, a thunderous blast of gunfire was shot in the direction.

"You see," B.B. continued as she reloaded her uzis, "the first little demon was very stupid and tried to face her head on. Then the wonderful Darkhunter blew his brains out. Then the second one tried to lay traps, but the wonderful Darkhunter saw that coming a mile away and blasted him apart as well. Then the cowardly third demon tried her chance at the wonderful Darkhunter, but she was too fearful to be a problem." Bulleta skipped around another pillar, seeing Miki standing there in horror. "And then the third demon died too." The guns flared again, only after B.B. Hood turned around and aimed behind her.

_How'd she know about after-images!_ _Anyways… I shouldn't even be using those damn things…_ Miki thought as she ducked down, releasing obsidian around her arms and legs to cover up her body as the bullets smashed into it. As the bullets rained into her, Miki added more and more layers of armor to her limbs, until at long last, the uzis ended their assault. Miki then jumped away before Bulleta could reload her guns again.

"So predictable…" Bulleta sighed as she opened up her basket and produced a shotgun. Best to go all out now. "How long have you been training, anyways?"

Miki quickly looked around behind a pillar far away. The only exit door was close to Bulleta…too close. The Darkhunter was still inserting shells into the gun, so Miki gambled on talking to her. "I've been trained since birth…but I'm no demon or Darkstalker." She needed a weapon to use against Bulleta, but the shielding of her body had cost her much of her fluid. The best Miki did was produce a small dagger. At least it would be easily concealed in the darkness.

Bulleta cracked her neck before responding. "Then why are you in Makai? I'm briefed on all Darkhunters…and I've never seen you before. And by the way…your training sucks. You're what…a C+ class fighter? That's barely better than a slave!" She fired two blasts into pillars Miki could be behind, but nothing. "Speed you have, and you know some good ninja-like moves. But you're just too damn weak!"

_That little bitch… and what the hell is a ninja! _Miki thought as she sneaked behind another pillar. If she could just lure Bulleta a little further, then maybe she could make a run for it. "Strength isn't everything," Miki returned as she threw her voice to try to baffle her foe. Bulleta didn't fall for it for a second and blasted another round of shot into the pillar Miki was behind; only Chrono-Bending saved the Darkinarki as she ducked the blast. The spread still winged her arms. _She's so good… and I'm only a _C+_ inhabitant here! God must have a sense of humor._ But she had to think. Bulleta was good, likely better than she was. Voice manipulation, after-images, it had all failed. She had to think simple now, because it was the only thing that might work. Bulleta had fired three times with her shotgun. Probably three more shots before needing to reload. She couldn't take that chance. Slowly, Miki stepped out into the open, seeing that Bulleta was just as baffled by the action.

Then again, she always liked it when her enemies knew exactly where she was.

_What's she planning?_ The Darkhunter wondered as she raised her gun up on instinct. The black-garbed assailant was faster, tossing the dagger at Bulleta. She saw it coming a mile away, turning to the side. "That's it?" the cocky girl asked as she took aim at the running Miki again, but something pulled at her. _What the?_ She turned around, seeing that the dagger had landed on her cloak. When she turned around again, Miki was gone.

Bulleta swore again before turning on a radio and talking to headquarters. For the moment, she was to stay put.

* * *

"What a strange place…" Miki remarked as soon as she got out of the building. She ran down the alley, ducking into a crowd of demons to hide in. "So different than Ectratin or Aniar…yet so familiar." A blood-red sky along with a blood-red ground. A number of demons eyed her suspiciously, wondering why a nine-year-old would be walking around alone. "Don't bother…" she explained to them, "I could kill you all." Normally her statement would be fact…yet here she was a simply a small fish that had been in an even smaller pond. Whether the others in the crowd believed her or not, they didn't show it.

"You're new here aren't you?" a green tentacled creature asked, a strange grin forming on his excuse for a mouth. "Makai is no place for a little girl…" one of his tentacles reached out to curl around her neck while another moved around her waist, but Miki Owikamki was up against a predictable foe that she quickly glid away from. "Of course, if you won't go willingly…" The creature motioned to a strange furry companion, who stepped out of the crowd with him.

"I assure you," Miki continued as she stepped away as well, "you're in for trouble." _Of course…that red-clothed girl wasn't exactly easy…and she seemed to be human. I hope I have better success against these two._ She assumed a defensive stance, tracing a curved line in the ground. _Soft, easy for slipping on. May have to use that._

The two charged at impressive speed, but their foe reacted quickly and swept at their feet. As the haired attacker fell, the tentacled one shot several of his appendages forward.

_Just how fast are these guys here? _Miki thought as she once again slowed down time and wrapped them up in a knot. _Seems there's a learning curve of sorts…either that or I'm better than the girl said. Doesn't make sense…_ she then chopped at they furry demon, knocking him out. "I warned you," she casually remarked as she kicked the other in the head. "But does anyone listen to the little Darkinarki girl? Nooooooo!" She turned to the onlookers, in a way practically begging for someone to jump in to aid the inept enemies. Several started to move forward, but something caused them to reconsider.

A wolflike howl pierced the night air, however, causing all the inhabitants to start to break up and run away, leaving Miki alone again. If she had known whose arrival it signaled, she may have considered running, but she did not. Instead, Miki stood there, listening for any sounds that could give away the incumbent's point of entry.

Nothing. Silence. Something was coming, but nothing was heard. Then, a bestial scream erupted, and another furry mass shot at Miki, claws unfurled. As Miki turned to see her death shooting like a bullet, it stopped, looking at the Darkinarki's eyes and a strange black aura around it with numerous colorful points.

"You're new here…" growled the werewolf, retracting its razor sharp claws.

"A lot of people have been saying that," Miki returned as she turned to walk away. "And I've survived all of them so far. Want to join the club?"

"Heh, you've got wit. And also a soul filled in darkness, which would draw you here sooner or later."

Miki stopped. This lycanthrope knew something, and if she were to survive her, Miki would need to actually know someone. "What would you know about a black soul?"

The werewolf laughed again as he extended his right paw for a handshake. "My name was once Jon Talbain, but if you want…you can call me Gallon."

Miki eyed her newest acquaintance with a suspicious look. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because once I had a soul of darkness, like you do now," Gallon seemed a lot more sober now, almost sad as he recalled his struggles in life. "I trained my body, trying to keep the beast inside me inside. I tried to make up for my loss of mental control with that of my body. Yet no matter how I tried, when it came out…people died."

"Then why are you standing here, in werewolf form, and not ripping my throat out?" Miki didn't know why, but she trusted him. If Gallon had wanted her dead, he would've killed her when he had the chance.

"Do you know…uh," he gestured towards her, in a motion implying he didn't know her name.

"Miki," she answered.

"Miki, when you do something terrible, do you try to make up for it? Because that was what the wolf was doing. Making up for my actions as a human, which were really just in retaliation for the wolf's feral acts. Eventually, I gave up. I'm a werewolf, a Darkstalker. I had to accept and embrace the darkness in my heart because it would be there no matter what. And that is the same boat you're in, Miki." Again Gallon extended his paw for a handshake.

Miki's inverted eyes met Gallon's blue eyes as her hand reached out. "What are you offering?"

Gallon grinned. "To teach you to harness your soul and use it without being corrupted. You have a pure black soul, but you make the key word "pure". You can be incorruptible, do things that someone else in the same boat wouldn't be able to. All you have to do is travel with me."

Miki shook her head and turned around. "You think I'm going to trust you? In case you haven't noticed, I'm no demon. I'm not one of you. I'll try to purge my soul my own way." She started to run away, but Gallon called out again, and for some reason she stopped.

"Go ahead," Gallon said as he turned around and walked away as well. "Try all the things I did to no avail, lose all hope, watch as your friends and family go away from you. Don't make the mistake I did. You _are_ the darkness, Miki. This is your last chance. You came here for a reason and I'm betting your soul was that reason. Do you want to waste your life when there is only one answer, and that answer is accept who you are?"

Miki slowly, very slowly, turned around, looking at Gallon. She said one thing before walking back: "I hate you." She then shook his hand.

* * *

Miles away, a well dressed, but pale skinned man walked through his castle halls, knowing quiet well where he was going. If he'd had his way, then several of his female servants would be accompanying him on this meeting, but business always came before pleasure.

"Master Maximoff!" called a hunched servant as he came over to the noble Vampire, "I heard the nobles have called a meeting! They are waiting for you in the study."

Demitri Maximoff shook his head in pity. Why were the servants always the last to know? He continued walking towards the study, personally wishing to end this discussion soon as possible.

As he opened the doors, he saw his "guests" were already assembled there. Sitting at a table there were a demonic martial artist, Ed Funechika; that strange collector, Taurus Drey; the philosopher, Sierra de Gilam; the war dragon, Xell Kreutz; that handsome man with more woman than him, Gregorio Hartland; the elder noble, Persimomn de Lepe; and then that damned succubus, Morrigan Aensland.

"I see that the host is always late," Morrigan mused. She had only came because she was in the area. Personally, she didn't care at all what Maximoff would be saying, but she enjoyed pissing off the vampire. She enjoyed the fact that when she was born she had had more power than Demitri had now had, even putting into account Demitri's hundred years on Earth and consuming Pyron and that she refused every challenge he sent her way.

"I'm most surprised to see you here, Morrigan. I didn't expect you considering how often your pants are removed on Earth." He looked around at the others in the group. "Now I understand why you're wondering why I called you here, but I believe we all have reason to listen to what I have to say." He called forth a servant, who came forward with several crude pictures. He then passed them around.

"As you can see," he continued, "this young girl is no demon, but still was attacked by that accursed Darkhunter…I believe her name was Bulleta."

"What are you getting at Demitri?" asked Persimmison, "So she's some creature we've yet encountered. In case you haven't noticed, humans aren't the only thing on Earth. She could likely be something else, much like how we've run into other creatures based of humans. Anarkis was a wonderful example. Perhaps this girl is another such example."

Demitri handed out another group of photos and continued explaining. "Even that 'Pharaoh' didn't have a dark soul, so why should this girl? Not to mention she survived running into Bulleta…without extensive use of magic. What she used, I do not know. I do know, however, that I sensed to great spells coming from the girl."

Even Morrigan was taken aback by this last fact. Magical abilities were the lifeblood of even the strongest of Darkstalkers…and yet a small girl had withstood battle against an S-class hunter. "At least the hunter is dead, correct?" asked Sierra. The new element added to the fold would be an interesting specimen to examine.

"Actually, no," Maximoff replied. "The hunter is still out there as well, but it's no matter. The important thing is that the target should be easy to track. A witness claimed she is travelling with the werewolf Gallon now. You remember him, don't you Kreutz?"

The dragon looked at the Vampire with a sinister glare. Gallon was the son of one of his guards…and that guard had never came back. "Still, what do we do with the child? It's bad enough that the Dhampir-'Donovan', right- is still running around here, and now another being of power enters the fold."

"What's the matter?" asked Hartland to agitate his enemy. "Can't you just relax about these things? After all, I'd like to see what she can do, once a few years older."

"I say let one of mine fight her!" answered Funechika. "If she did not have great magic, then she must have been a better fighter to escape the gunslinger! He will determine her power. Anyone else have a problem with that?"

No one did, but Morrigan yawned as she gracefully slid out of her chair.

"Where do you think you're going?" Demitri sneered as his quarry walked past him.

"It doesn't apply to me, Vampire," Morrigan answered as she gestured to the doors, opening them effortlessly. "Now if you excuse me, I'm tempted to go clubbing. I heard this cute little nightclub opened up and I want to see who's there."

This was too much for Demitri, who lunged forward and smashed down with both hands. As his fists slammed into the succubus's body, she vanished into a cloud of magical bats, and then appeared next to him and playfully kissed him on the cheek to further anger the Vampire before leaving. He had spent a hundred years of training, recovering on Earth, and yet he was a joke compared to her! He had never trusted Aenslands, but he'd take losing his power to Beliel again (if he were still alive) over her haughty arrogance. He turned to the other six nobles of Makai, anger draining from his eyes. "Anybody else have anything to say?"

"**I do**," erupted a voice as the doors opened again, showing a strange demon there. "**Why do you desire to destroy the strong of spirit?**"

Everyone in the room quickly stood ready for battle against this new entrant. "Lord Jedah Dohma," Demitri asked as he powered up. "What brings you to my humble villa?"

Jedah snickered. He had failed to unite all souls once before, because of those damned night warriors, but that didn't mean he'd given up. All the death in Makai could only end in tragedy, but his world, Majigen, could've ended all that. "Here I see the seven high nobles of Makai," he continued, deciding to talk with less force. "Here I see seven people that will bring about more death and sorrow. When will it end? When will you let the souls join together?"

Demitri glared at the reincarnated S-class demon. "_I _am the Lord of the Night, Jedah, not you. Makai is the kingdom of the seven nobles, and it has no place for you."

Jedah shrugged. "True, quiet possibly true. But automatically you decide to lash out against the girl, not even knowing her full powers. To be honest, neither do I." He turned and walked away, muttering "When will it all end?"

Demitri was smarter than to run after this S-class demon. Morrigan would rather just live a carefree life and preferred ignoring him. Jedah would slaughter him if the Vampire attacked. He took a deep breath, turned around to face the nobles, and continued. "So what will we do?"

"My offer still stands," Funechika answered. "I'll have one of my warriors find her and have a little skirmish to find the depth of her skill and strength. And also just how her soul sways. Any objections?" No one said anything against him, and Demitri clapped his hands.

"Good," said the host as he opened the doors again. "Ed, I expect you to send a warrior some time soon. Until then, I'm sure you'll all be helping in any way you can."

* * *

"So what do we start with first?" Miki asked as she and Gallon reached a clearing in the forest. "Some advanced training tactic?"

Gallon shook his head. "No. You're just going to try to hit me."

"Just once?"

Gallon nodded. "Just once."

_What's this guy smoking? I'm not _that _bad!_ Miki thought as she Chrono-Bended, shot forward like a rocket, and sent a fist flying towards his face. Before it even got a foot away, Jon Talbain caught it with his own hand. Miki then used the act as leverage to lift up her legs to kick his torso, but the werewolf tossed her away before the attack came close._ How can he be so fast? He's not even trying yet!_

"You can't just rely on skill and speed," Gallon said as he cracked his neck. "You actually have to use your soul to augment your strikes. But for now…let's try something even simpler…"

A/N: Next time, Miki will realize just how her mundane her training has been so far in her life as Gallon begins a brutal training regime. And that's _before_ Jedah is thrown into the mix in If You Want to Win, You can't Suck!


	3. If You Want to Win, You Can't Suck!

A/N: Next Chapter. I don't own Darkstalkers.

_This is unreal!_ Miki thought as she stood perfectly still. Talbain's fundamental exercise was as simple as it could be: to not flinch no matter what attack was sent against her.

"Keep your eyes open, dammit!" Gallon scolded as he sent a brutal slash straight at her jugular, stopping just as the claw pricked her neck. "See the attacks coming and face them head on!" He then sent a kick rocketing towards her gut, a grin forming on his mouth.

_This is starting to be more pointless than usual,_ Miki thought as she watched the leg shoot towards her. She was starting to get used to keeping her nerves focused, not fearing the attacks. Unfortunately, Gallon's foot smashed into her stomach with brutal force, knocking her back a bit. "Changing the rules, are we?" she asked.

"Couldn't resist," Gallon explained as he shrugged. "You're just too arrogant. There's nothing against being like that, just make sure you have the money you can put where your mouth is. Now I guess we should train your endurance and control your fear."

Miki was baffled by the remark. "What do you mean?" She hoped it would be something like sensory depravation. That was easy enough.

Gallon pointed down a forest path. "I want you to run."

"Run?" Miki asked. Running was easy; she'd learned to pace herself quiet well at the assassin's temple. "For how long?"

"Until I say stop. Ready, go." Gallon stared at Miki, who was completely confused by this. _Time to take it up a notch._ The werewolf let his feral side emerge as a bestial scream ripped through the forest. _Good, Miki's finally getting the idea_, he thought as Miki turned around, running down the trail as fast as she could. _I could use a brisk jog, too_.

Miki ran as fast as her nine-year old legs would permit, daring not Chrono-bend. She'd be moving too fast to coordinate the black holes, and she didn't have the time to stop and get her bearings. Jon was after her, letting lose monstrous screams and smashing down trees and anything else in his path. _When the Hell will he say stop?_

Come on, Miki! Let's see what you can do when your skin crawls! He closed the gap between himself and his student for one fleeting moment and slashed down with his claw right at her shoulder. Miki looked back for a split second, seeing her teacher's claws tear down, but a quick forming of obsidian armor plate managed to turn the attack from her shoulder. Another claw fell, and this time Miki's eyes went wide as they were aimed at her head. Her hairline couldn't expel the fluid, and that was just where Gallon's attack would land. For a second, Gallon thought he'd have to stop, but Miki managed to jump ahead for a few seconds and avoided an accidental death. 

_Is he trying to kill me? _Miki thought as she continued to dash through the forest with a lycanthrope on her tail. _Then again, Kalazi and my other teachers sometimes would use lethal weapons against me… but- OH MY GOD!_ Gallon had jumped in front of her and launched himself at her with his fangs bared and ready to tear her neck out. Just as he reached her, Miki stopped and kicked back on the ground, knocking herself backwards at a speed slightly slower than Gallon's, and for one eternal moment, there was just two things: Miki's vulnerable neck, and Gallon's teeth, only inches away from the aforementioned body part.

Then, Miki formed two small blades on the heels of her feet and stabbed them into the ground, knocking her under Gallon's attack, freeing her up to continue running. She'd love to attack the bastard, but she was just supposed to run until he said stop. Gallon quickly rolled out of his flight and continued running after his prey. The wolf in him was finally glad it could run free while the man in him was glad he still could stop before Miki died. Deep down, he was enjoying this greatly.

* * *

The demonic noble Ed Funechika sat thinking on his throne, wondering just who to send to test the girl's depth. He had so many skilled fighters, many of whom could easily defeat him if they wanted to. However low his fighting powers were, Ed knew that his reputation was second to very few people, and most of those people were dead. The only ones left were several of the other nobles, Jedah, and Morrigan, and they really didn't want the title of "Greatest Martial Artist" in the first place, ensuring his safety. Still, he wished he could think of a suitable warrior to send. He had to make sure to send the right person, somebody to defeat this Owikamki and yet make sure he could hang onto her for a possible bargaining chip. When his mind failed to produce a name, he called out for a friend.

"Kirin?" he called as a servant ran off to find the demoness.

Kirin Enslade was not like any demon he'd ever met. All anybody knew about her was she was decently attractive, a reasonable fighter, a brilliant magician, and an ungodly tactician. She claimed to have come from another land, yet there was not a single clue as to this other land or world. She had appeared in Makai only a year ago, often taking no side in a conflict. She willingly aided any of the nobles, provided that her actions would not lead to aggression towards the others. That didn't mean she didn't do those actions, she just covered her tracks whenever she did. Very well. And in the meantime, she researched, mainly focusing on the single time Beliel Aensland had battled to his fullest.

Eventually the servant returned, and in a moment the great oaken doors opened as Kirin stood there. She was dressed in a long white dress while her long blonde hair flowed freely. Some would even say that her beauty exceeded that of Morrigan, yet no one dared say , let alone debate, it out loud. That would mean you'd either have a mysterious tactician that was possibly "A-"-Class or an "S"-Class succubus -or maybe even both- at your throats, and no one wanted that. Besides, it wasn't like Enslade was known for sexual actions; her choice in dresses was quite the testament of that.

"Kirin, thank you for coming on short notice," Ed began as he handed Kirin a copy of the pictures of Miki. "As you have probably heard, a new girl is in Makai, and I-"

"You volunteered to send someone out to test her strength, and now you can't figure out who to send, can you?" She asked as she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be of help."

"You will?" Ed asked as he suddenly felt he was in a very awkward position.

"Why not? Besides, I have the perfect candidate all picked out already. You know who that is?" she walked towards him, a smile tugging at her face.

_Oh damn_, Ed thought. "Me, right?" He slumped down, blatantly worried.

"It's okay," she said as she walked up to him. "I'll help you get ready."

Ed looked up, looking up into her gray eyes. He was glad he'd have aid from Kirin. "What'll you do?"

Kirin extended a hand out and placed it on his shoulder. "Understand that I have a bit of respect for you, Ed… you just need a shove in the right direction. Well, that and I need to use you as an example in case anyone tries to get in my way. That's why I'm going to have to kill you." Before Ed knew it, a white bone shot up from the ground, catching him in between his legs and blasting through his entire body, exiting through his brain. Several more spinal poles impaled his body to ensure he wasn't playing possum.

As Ed's body fell down, Kirin motioned to the doors, closing them by magic. She'd waited almost two centuries for this, and now she'd finally return to power. With another magically created bone in the shape of a knife, she stabbed into Ed's back, etching a quartered cross on his back; a symbol Miki would recognize as the Seal of Chaos. She chanted in an unintelligible language as the Seal glowed blue and then Ed stood back up, blood dripping from his body, and looking far more skillful in combat than before. "Now Ed, do you know what to do?"

He nodded. "Kill both Jon Talbain and Miki Owikamki."

"Good job, Funechika!" Kirin said as she slapped him on the back playfully. But just capture them unless killing is absolutely necessary. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"Not at all, Lady Enslade."

Kirin smiled again as Ed walked away, ready to kill when the time came. She had almost been worried if she could still bring people back like that -it had been quiet a while since she had done it- but now her fears were relieved. And this time, Balteria Ciercin was good and dead.

But this Miki... the Alcemia of her time had no such creature as a Darkinarki... to be fair she had permitted the genocideof the Sykens, but that was something _entirely_ different. Kirin didn't like things she knew little about, and she didn't even know where to start on this Miki Owikamki.

* * *

Miki continued running as fast as she could, but her speed was greatly decreased since the chase's beginning. Her feet were bloody, her clothes and skin had been cut at a number of minor places, and her strength was all but gone. As she rounded a turn in the path, she saw her werewolf guide was standing there, ready to pounce.

"Stop," he said, after which she collapsed onto the ground. She looked up with a mix of hatred and gratitude, wondering why Gallon had waited so long to say that magic word. "And _that's_ what you can do when you're in a situation where every advantage you have is taken away. Oh, and don't worry about the cuts, I can't make somebody a werewolf by biting or cutting them." Miki nodded, understanding. "That's how far your body can go with fear, and I notice were going all-out without worrying about your soul getting out of hand. Here." He tossed her a piece of cooked meat and sat down on a nearby stump. "For part of the chase, you should know I took a break and went into a town. That'swhere I got the food so you don't need to worry, dog drool isn't over it or anything." He chuckled once before becoming serious again. "Still, I heard there the rumor is you're a wanted girl. Any truth to that?"

Miki staggered over to a tree, where she stopped and caught her breath. "Who knows? Makai isn't like any place I've seen before. Back home, there isn't anything like werewolves and other demons like that. Well, except for Vampires."

This last bit caught Gallon's attention. "You mean there are Vampires where you're from?"

Miki nodded. "Yeah. They came from Makai a couple centuries ago. Didn't want to be controlled by the Maximoffs anymore. Bunch of bastards if you ask me."

"Wronged you, didn't they?"

"Let's just say, if a certain fanged person had his say, I'dve been killed when I was born." She cracked her neck as she ate some of the meat. It was pretty good. "What'd you say this stuff was?"

"You don't want to know." Gallon then looked up into the sky. It was getting pretty dark. "Take the rest of today and tomorrow off. I don't want to stay here much longer. It's getting too quiet forest, especially for a Makai forest."

* * *

"I thought you said we weren't going into town!" Miki whispered as she put a black robe over her body to conceal who she was. It was two days later, her injuries were healed, her outfit was replaced with another, and they were getting ready to head off somewhere else.

"I'm sorry," Gallon said as he led her down the path to the village. "But it would help if we knew exactly what the nobles are after. Just don't start a fight or anything."

"What? Me?" Miki smiled. Gallon was a good guy, despite he seemed too much of a hardass.

As they entered the town, a variety of demons eyed them with suspicion. Jon Talbain was known as one of the legendary Darkstalkers that had partook in the battle against Pyron and then against Jedah, yet they didn't know who is comrade was. It obviously wasn't another of the people that had fought in those conflicts, so who was it?

Gallon walked up to a vendor and looked around for any eavesdroppers. "I'm here for information."

"Information about what?" the serpentine demon asked.

"The nobles' search for that one girl. What'd you know about it?"

The demon laughed. "What? You mean that girl with you is the one the nobles are after?"

For a second, Gallon almost panicked. _Don't seem fazed. Don't give him any ideas._ "What? You think this little succubus I'm carrying in tow is the girl?" he returned. His hand shot forward, gripping the demon's neck. His head neared his prey's as he growled. "Stupidity is one of the few things I don't forgive." _Just don't seem so enraged… don't over-act…_

"Okay! Okay!" Gallon let the man free, allowing him to not black out. "You want to know about the girl, right?"

Gallon nodded.

"Supposedly, her name is Miki. I heard from a reliable source she also comes from the same land as-"

But he never finished. A throwing star, flying through the air at incredible speed, was dodged by Gallon but not the other demon. The werewolf spun around, looking at his adversary. Standing there was Ed Funechika, silver shuriken daggers in hand.

"Jon Talbain, I presume?" Ed asked as the crowd parted allowing the two to fight.

_Where's Miki?_ Gallon thought as he casually looked around. There she was, standing next to a tree. She started to move forward, but he shook his head enough for her to get the idea. He turned back to his foe. "Ed… wonderful to see you're actually getting back into fighting." He shot forward, slashing down into empty air. _After-images! But…Ed's not THAT good!_

The martial artist appeared behind Talbain, kicking him back and tossed a number of throwing stars which pounded into Gallon's body, trapping his body to a building's side. The werewolf could only look as Funechika tossed the last star, aimed right at his heart. But then, there was a black blur; Miki.

"Miki, what the hell are you doing!" Gallon growled as the Darkinarki slowed down time enough to grab the throwing star. "If he got me off-guard, what chance do you have?" He dared not move, considering the silver weapons could possible cut open a vein. He'd just have to hope that Miki could free him and then they could escape. Yeah… some hope.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…" Ed Funechika announced, "I give you Miki Owikamki!" Several of the villagers approached, willing to capture her for whatever the reward might be.

"Don't count on it," Miki sneered as she formed a pair of wrist blades similar to katars on each arm, two curved blades on her elbows, and a thin spike on the back of her neck. This caused them to back off as she moved her foot across the ground and traced a curved line. "I believe you are one of the seven nobles, Mr. Funechika. Why did you come down to bother a little girl lost in a big world?"

Ed cracked his neck. "Because I felt I should. I give you two choices: you either come with me alive along with Gallon… or I kill Gallon, beat you to a pulp, and take you anyways."

Miki focused on the strength of her black soul as she looked at him, calling up latent power. "I don't think I'll go with either of those." She assumed a combat stance as Ed did the same.

"Miki! Just get out of here!" Gallon snarled. "He wants both of us alive, apparently, and if he beat me, what chance do you have? You can't possibly match his level of power or skill, which is sad because he's stronger than the rumors say…"

"Don't worry, Jon. I'm a fast learner." _Now let's see just how much a few days of training here will do_. She dashed forward, slashing down with one of her blades, which Ed simply vanished into. _After-image…_She quickly looked around and found him behind her. Miki jumped forward, shooting her foot out behind her to snap his head back, but again he vanished. _Can't win that way…_

Ed then reappeared in front of her, grabbing the young girl by the neck and throwing her away. Ed was on her as Miki landed, punching so fast she needed to Chrono-bend just to see the blurs of his hands, but those blurs were enough for her to block with her left hand while her right slashed down at his legs. Ed raised one leg up to kick her as well as avoid the attack, which knocked Miki back.

"He's toying with you, dammit!" Gallon shouted as Ed slipped behind Miki and grabbed one of her arms and snapped off the obsidian blades before slapping her in the temples.

Miki groaned as she stood up again to see Ed smiling. "If I could just hit that bastard once…"

"Go ahead." Anything to destroy her confidence.

"What?" Miki asked. _Is he really that confidant? Then again…_

"I said, hit me. As hard as you want." He stood there, without projecting after-images or any other kind of passive defense. He could handle anything this pathetic girl sent at him.

"Miki…just get out of here!" Gallon said again, but Miki shook her head.

"Being an assassin isn't about running away when all your advantages are gone…" Unfortunately…this_ is a really sucky situation…_She had to use a forbidden technique; exhausting to the user and capable of destroying the planet. She charged forward, her right arm turning pitch black as her fist pulsed with what was unlimited power. "SINGULARITY FIST!" Her fist shot forward… Only to be caught by Ed, but Miki still poured all her strength into the punch. "GIVE OUT, DAMMIT!" Miki screamed as she looked at the smiling demon.

Then, Ed winced. A sickening snap was heard, and in unison, Ed's body went to pieces. His entire left side of his body shattered; bones, muscles, skin, everything. The right side collapsed, hopelessly dead, and fell to the ground.

Miki, drained of all strength, somehow staggered over to where Gallon was pinned and pulled the throwing stars out. "What was that?" Gallon said in amazement before he realized he was bleeding pretty badly.

Miki reached into her back and pulled out her two red mirror shards. She stabbed one into herself and the other into Gallon, and they both felt at least their strength return to decent as their wounds closed. "A dangerous attack…" She fell to the ground and tried to catch her breath. "The Singularity Fist is derived from a Darkinarki's gravity manipulation. Essentially it focuses the force of a Black Hole into a single, all-or-nothing, punch. And because the force of gravity between to objects increases according to the size, it can kill a man…"

"…or destroy a planet…" Gallon looked at the crowd, which was again crowding around them. The werewolf growled with malice in his voice that drove them off again. And then, the usage of the mirror shards finally reached his brain. "Miki, did you just use shards of the Sacred Red Mirror?"

"Yeah," Miki said as she cracked her neck. The shards were no quick-fix, but they helped quite a bit. "What's the problem with that?"

Gallon quickly dropped down and looked her in the eyes. "Miki," he whispered, "Do you come from the the same place as Balteria Ciercin... the Cursed Necromancer?"

The young Darkinarki nodded. "Yeah, but he's been dead for more than two hundred years now. And how did you know about him?"

Jon whistled. Things just got a lot more complicated.

A/N: Next chapter, Miki discovers that Enteria's ancestor also paid a visit to Makai, but for a very different reason! And Jedah faces Kirin when two resurrected demons go head-to head! Then, Morrigan discovers that Lillith is on the loose again somehow in The Greatest Necromancers!


	4. The Greatest Necromancers

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I don't own Darkstalkers.

Kirin Enslade looked around the Funechika mansion, amazed that Ed had control over all of this. Well, not anymore, since he was dead. _Expected… and actually **desired** losses_, Kirin thought as she called a small demon over to her. It was easy enough to have made Ed put her in charge, after all, she'd controlled him. But there was one person in this entire castle that was opposing her command. She walked down to the main hall, already expecting to see him down there.

"Jedah Dohma," Kirin said with mock-surprise, "what are you doing here at my castle?"

"_Your_ castle?" Jedah asked. He was in touch with every soul in Makai, even a little bit, and he knew when any one of them died. Ed Funechika was no exception. "What's happened to Ed?" he asked, staying focused. He knew very little about Kirin, only about as much as anyone else. He'd never trusted her, hell, he couldn't even sense her soul.

"Oh, Ed?" Kirin answered in a childish manner. "He went out for a little fight and lost. He left all this to me as an insurance policy for such an occasion. What do you think?"

Jedah looked at her, and something hit him. He'd never felt it before…except once. He'd only sensed it on himself. "You died once -at _least_ once- before, didn't you?" he asked again. "Roughly…one hundred and ninety years ago. Yes…that was about the time that the Cursed Necromancer came here…give or take a decade…"

Kirin glared at him as he said the name. "Don't mention that human in my presence, Jedah, or you will see just how fleeting your power is! He and I had a…relationship of sorts."

Jedah snorted. "Balteria Ciercin had few allies, even among the Necromancers at first…you were enemies, weren't you?"

Again, Kirin shot an angry stare at Jedah when he mentioned that accursed warrior. Her fists were clenched and were eyes went wide for a split second as she charged the Vampire Savior, spinal javelins appearing in her hands and erupting around the chamber.

* * *

"Balteria Ciercin," Gallon said after he _persuaded_ an innkeeper to give him and Miki rooms. "And Balteria has a grandson as the leader of the Necromancers now?"

Miki nodded. "His name's Enteria. Not a good fighter, like Balteria, but a good man and pretty smart."

Gallon chuckled, as if from an inside joke. "_Good _fighter? I wasn't alive when the Cursed Necromancer was here, but people say that Balteria was "S+"-class! He just didn't survive in Makai; he thrived! He had discipline and focus to deal with Succubuses, he had Clerical and Necromantic powers to deal with anybody fighting him…and he had that "Gift of Chaos" thing…" Gallon trailed off for a moment… "That I heard allowed him to fight Beliel Aensland, the strongest demon ever…to a draw…"

"Yeah," Miki said as she nodded, recalling past memories, "that Gift of Chaos is something wonderful. A super-strong dampening field that negates all but the strongest non-chaotic spells. He really was the greatest Necromancer. Guess not to many people here use Gen -the chaotic version of Chi- here. Course I don't have the Gift yet."

"Not old enough?" Gallon asked.

"No," Miki shook her head and sighed, "haven't obtained spiritual purity yet. They can't risk giving the Gift to a possible enemy. With any luck, I'll get it when I get back home." She walked into her room, quickly hearing Gallon step in as well. "Do you mind? I'm confident that no one is going to come after me tonight."

"Why?"

"Because after seeing me kill one of the seven nobles in plain sight, I'm sure people here will think twice before approaching me." She tossed her bag onto a nearby dresser and formed armor plates underneath her black outfit for protection. "And I'll sleep easier without having a giant man-wolf looking over me."

Gallon sighed; there was no convincing her. He walked outside to his adjacent room.

* * *

Jedah staggered back as he continued battling with Kirin. This wasn't possible! How could she exceed him in strength when he gathered his power from the souls of Makai!

"You're not quite up to my expectations," Kirin said as one bony spike impaled his arm, causing him to drop his scythe. Even when the many of Makai's strongest had ganged up on him, he'd dealt out some damage of his own, but Kirin was slaughtering him! He sent a barrage of magical sickles at Kirin, but they faded away before even reaching her. That had cost him the last of his strength…and it had failed… "It can't be…that Gift thing…you…" but that was all he could manage before he collapsed.

Kirin slowly walked up to the defamed demon, smiling. And here she'd thought that Jedah would be an actual problem to her plans. True, he opposed her…but she was sure that at least one of the other nobles would be more than willingly to just stay out of her way. Speaking of which, it might be smart to just go public with her capabilities so she could focus on figuring out what the hell a Darkinarki was. She recalled the Vampire, Demitri, having a bone to pick with Morrigan Aensland as well. Perhaps she could find an ally in him…

But Jedah was still twitching on the ground. She couldn't have that, and she once again created her knife. Jedah would undoubtedly be a better slave than Ed had been. She walked over; ready to once again etch the Seal into his back, but Jedah's eyes barely opened. He wasn't dead yet.

"Seeing…you…" he said as he smiled. Then he was gone, vanishing in a puddle of dark water.

Kirin growled. Jedah, even in his weakened condition, was a threat to her plans. But he could be dealt with later. She had a Vampire to see about a succubus.

* * *

"Alright," Talbain said as he and Miki prepared to hit the road again. "Got everything?"

"You should know that," Miki said, gesturing at her backpack, which had every single thing the two possessed crammed into it. "Incidentally, what's with having the kid carry the weightload?"

Gallon laughed again as he stepped off onto the road with her. "Consider it training. Whenever we spar, you'll be wearing that thing…and NO Chrono-bending."

"But it's the basics of my entire fighting style!" Miki whined. "Let's see you not use your werewolf fighting powers in matches!"

The man could only shrug. "I do that all the time. And you need to learn not to rely on something like that. It'll increase your reaction speeds too. No come on. It's starting to get bright out and I want to get a good start before we run into any problems."

Miki could only huff in a pissed manner as she ran after her current tutor. When she'd agreed to travel with him, she'd been under the impression he'd train her like Master Kalazi had. Kalazi had pitted her against a number of older, but lower ranked students on many occasions. She usually fought against five or six at a time while facing unusual circumstances, like fighting on a lake and having to stand on lily pads. Gallon's training regime seemed so… simplistic compared to what she'd faced. It was working, she had to admit. Her skills and strength had increased a bit, and she could sense her ever-purifying soul augment her skills. Maybe there was something to how he was teaching her.

"How long did it take you…" she started, wondering just how long Gallon struggled with his wolf half.

"To deal with it?" Gallon answered, once again acting very somber, "Who knows how long. I thought I had finally beat it when I fought against Pyron and his robots…and then when Demitri ate the damned alien. For years, I was human again for some reason, as if God had a twisted sense of humor. And then on one full moon, it came again.

"Then I found myself facing off against Jedah and his minions," Jonathan continued as he helped Miki climb a steep hill on the path. "Once again, I was fighting alongside demons that menaced humanity, even if they didn't know who I was really. Of course, there were those fighting alongside Jedah, like that damned zombie and the Soul-Bees. And then there was Lillith…" His voice trailed off.

"What's the matter? Had a crush on her?" Miki said, only half-joking.

Gallon, on the other hand, found the question very humorous. "Like her? No! Only met her once when I fought in Majigen. But she was constantly in search of Morrigan Aensland."

"Ah! You had a crush on **her**!"

Again, Gallon chuckled at how stupid Miki was. "Once again, no. Morrigan's just a succubus that needs to keep her pants on a little more than she does. Not like I ever met her outside of battle." He shook his head, recalling just how oxymoronic she was. "She is technically the ruler of Makai, but she prefers just living a carefree life. Which to her means rampant sex whenever she wants. But then she started to get a bit more serious about being the ruler after Jedah surrendered. Not a lot, but a bit. She might make some sort of decree here or there and then run back to Earth for whatever reason. I think that was Lillith's influence. You see, Morrigan's soul was split up at birth because she was too strong. Eventually that split part became Lillith, who was drawn to Morrigan like a magnet, and the two fused. Weird times."

Miki agreed as she puttered along behind him, silently yelling at him for bringing a weight set.

* * *

"So, Enslade," Demitri summed up as he sat opposite of her at his study, "You offer me _complete_ control of Makai, without having to worry about whatever the other nobles, Jedah, or Morrigan might think or do? And all I have to do is share it with you, the person that allowed me to reach that level of power in the first place?"

Kirin nodded. "That is correct. As you have probably heard, Lord Maximoff, Jedah is easily not a problem any more, I have already killed the martial artist noble, and Morrigan," she trailed off, a smile appearing as she mentally laughed at an inside joke, "won't be feeling quite like herself anytime soon."

Demitri was interested in this. He could finally break down Morrigan's damned arrogance and make her nothing but a slave, but could Kirin do all that? "And how…" he asked as he stood up, calling forth a servant to call for some of his women, "do you plan on doing this all?"

Kirin's laughter erupted into the room. "Please! I've already brought about one of the noble's untimely death, Jedah will think twice to fight me again, and Morrigan doesn't even know that a familiar face will be rearing her violet-haired head in Makai again!"

Demitri stood befuddled by the last part for a moment, but then he nodded in agreement. "Very well then, Kirin. But this alliance will not be official until Morrigan is dead. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

* * *

Morrigan sighed as she allowed her magic bats to clothe her again before she stepped out onto the crowded street. She had to stop hitting more than ten clubs in one night. It was starting to not just be worth the rewards, which was sad really. Especially since she was feeling more tired than usual after hitting the towns.

_I wonder why_, she thought as she walked down the street. She'd find a nice abandoned alley and use that to cover her flight back to Castle Aensland. _I'll have somebody look into it at home._ She felt there was something back home she needed to find, but she couldn't figure out what.

As her white shirt and red pants morphed into her grey outfit that even had her wondering how it stayed on, her wings spread wide as she looked around. Nobody was looking as her majestic wings flapped as she rose up into the sky, but she quickly got out of breath and had to land on a rooftop. It was there that she saw something that made her blood freeze.

If somebody had been looking around the city rooftops, they'd have seen another succubus there, with a red-hued outfit and wings and a short violet haircut. _It can't be…_ Morrigan thought as she caught her breath again. When she looked up, what she had thought she'd seen was gone. _Lillith…now I know I should head home. Especially since_, she looked down at her left hand, which still held the Aensland family ring, _I still want to wear this thing, which would be Lillith's influence_.

Her wings beat again as she flew back up into the air, and she scanned for any sign of her "sister". But wherever Lillith was, Morrigan couldn't see her, as if she hadn't been there in the first place

* * *

"Where am I?" Lillith asked as she looked around Castle Aensland. "I've seen this place before…when I was in Morrigan, but…" as she looked down the stairs, she saw two people. One was Demitri (she noticed him immediately), but the other was some strange woman she'd never seen before.

"Ah, you're here," Demitri said as he flew up to see his nemesis's weaker half. "Good. Kirin, I think we have some explaining to do for poor Lillith."

"Indeed," Kirin remarked as she slowly glid up to meet the two.

"Wh-where's Morrigan?" Lillith asked as she backed away from the two, clutching her head like she had as she had when Jedah had given her this temporary body. "I n-need her. What've you done to Morrigan!"

"Please," Kirin said as she walked up to the young girl. "Don't bother with this whole 'I need Morrigan' crap. I made sure to deal with that." She looked the young Aensland in the eye as she spoke again. "I made you the dominant side; the side with strength. Now Morrigan will feel the agony of trying to find you."

"But why?" Lillith said as she continued to back away from them. It was good to be free like this…but she couldn't do this to her other half…especially since she'd almost died from the experience. "Why'd you do something like that?"

Demitri then smiled as well. "It's simple. I have a score to settle with Morrigan, not you. Lady Kirin here has offered her assistance, and was able to use Necromancy to summon you here, since all you are is a fragment of a soul. I don't want to kill Morrigan, just break her to my will. After that, she's free to reunite with you…provided you bring us a young girl or at _least_ test her strength."

Lillith suddenly became interested in what Demitri said. Whenever she'd encountered him he seemed so vile and sinister. If he would return Morrigan to her, and she was the dominant side…she liked that idea very much. "Who is this girl?" Lillith asked, almost grinning at the prospect of not just being some part of Morrigan, but a real person and turn the tables on her. But why was she feeling that way? Morrigan was like her sister… in a way. She backed away again, realizing what she was doing. She looked at Kirin's left hand; blue light was glowing from the palm.

"And here I thought you'd offer some resistance," Kirin said as she shot forward. Jedah had not been of her creation, so doing what she about to do to Lillith wouldn't have worked on the so-called Vampire Savior. Her palm glowed with a Seal of Chaos on it and she pressed her hand to Lillith's head as the succubus screamed. The girl's relatively innocent eyes turned a shade darker as a red bracer with the quartered cross appeared on her left arm. "Now what were you saying, Lillith?" Kirin asked.

"I said I'd love to help," Lillith said as she joined Kirin's ranks. "Just tell me where the girl is."

Demitri smiled as he headed out. Morrigan would be here soon.

* * *

As night fell on Gallon and Miki, the werewolf had helped her set up camp of into a nearby forest. To Gallon's surprise, Miki had offered to take first watch. The last thing Talbain saw before he fell asleep was Miki tying his weights around her arms and legs.

_Focus_, Miki thought as she practiced her form. _Learn to deal with the weight_. She checked just how much extra she was lugging around, it was a good fifty pounds total. _Have to do better_ _than that soon_. She slowly balanced on her right foot, the weaker of the two, and bent her body back. It was a traditional practice to improve balance, and Miki thought the simple exercise would fit with what Talbain was having her do. To add to the challenge, however, Miki was doing it on a steep hill, focusing on keeping herself balanced as her arms spread away from her body and her left leg raised up to form a perfectly flat path from her hairline to her toes. Her shape had a passing resemblance to a wine glass, or at least it did before her leg gave out and she fell onto the ground. "A whole minute," she said as she checked her watch. "Not bad."

She continued these simplistic exercises through the night, not bothering Gallon when it was his turn to keep watch and let her sleep. She could get by a day or two without sleep, and she wanted to improve further. As Miki walked through the forest, she soon found a stream, flowing with what looked to be blood. For a long moment, Miki sat there, listening for anything that could be in the water waiting for her. Nothing. She looked around, finding a number of flat stones one would use to skip stones across the river. Miki looked back at Gallon, who seemed to be more awake than he looked. No going back now.

_No Chrono-bending_, Miki thought as she readied the stones in her hands. _Like Talbain said, I can't rely on it._ She tossed the collection, throwing each at a specific rhythm, as if that was part of the training. As the last flew from her hand, Miki waited until it hit the ground and then leapt after it, timing her landing so she landed and sprang forward again, preparing to land on the next.

But it was not meant to last, as she slipped and fell into the river. As she walked out, soaked in the red liquid, Gallon was there offering her a hand. "Going for a swim?" he asked as he pulled her out of the muck.

"Just training," she said in return. "Figured it would be a good idea and it's original anyways."

Jon agreed with her before leading her back to the campsight to let her catch up on sleep. Miki looked back at the stream, knowing that it would be her final test to run across on the stones she'd tossed.

* * *

Morrigan staggered back through the gate, exhausted beyond what she could believe. What was wrong with her? As she looked at the kingdom of Makai, technically **her** kingdom, she sensed something was wrong. She sensed something that had been resurrected…something that almost felt like that damned Necromancer that had tied with her father two hundred years ago. That was all she could manage before she blacked out.

"You'll have to do better," Lillith said as she flew by the Gate and towards her exhausted half. "You won't even survive Demitri's glory in your condition." She landed and knelt down, holding Morrigan's head in her hand before standing up. She tossed the body a small blue shard, similar to the ones Miki had used to heal herself and Gallon a day ago. Lillith then flew off again, in search of the Darkinarki. Morrigan was not hers until Demitri his way with her. Besides, what was the fun of not toying with people for the glory of Kirin Enslade, the greatest Necromancer ever?

A/N: Next chapter, Miki and Gallon encounter the humiliated Jedah, who offers an alliance against Makai's newest conqueror. But Miki will have to take her training up another notch as she struggles to finally reach the level of "B+"-class fighter with Lillith in hot pursuit! Will Morrigan be able to escape Demitri as he begins hunting her down with great success? And who was Kirin Enslade 190 years ago, and what is her connection with Balteria Ciercin? Find out next chapter: The Chase Begins


	5. The Chase Begins

A/N: Next chapter. I don't own Darkstalkers.

"You did what!" Demitri snarled as he slammed Lillith into a chokehold. He'd have blasted her with magic, but apparently the Morrigan doppelganger had that Gift of Chaos, and his efforts would be wasted. "You had Morrigan in plain view and didn't return with her? What are you up to Lillith?"

Lillith laughed at how stupid the Vampire could be. "And ruin the fun on the chase for yourself, Demitri? I'm not that stupid. She's all yours, and she was unconscious at the Gate to the human world when I left. I'm sure you'll find her there." She chopped at his wrist, causing the Vampire to let her go. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have a girl to find." The succubus opened a window in Castle Aensland, and was gone.

"What's the matter?" Kirin asked as Demitri pounded his fist into a stone wall, leaving an impressive crater. "I thought you'd prefer dealing with Morrigan with as little outside interference as possible. But you should know…she probably won't be knocked out when you find her."

Demitri looked up at the mysterious demon, wondering just what Enslade was up to. "And why not?"

Kirin laughed as she created a thin blue mirror shard from thin air. "Because Lillith gave Morrigan one of these. Morrigan's body itself will feel just as weak, but she'll not drift off into nothingness. I thought it was the least I could do so you could find her. Now are you going to just stand there, gritting your teeth, or are you going after her? In case you haven't remembered, it was _your_ idea to not officially ally with me until you have Morrigan. So what're you waiting for? I'm not going to stop you."

Maximoff looked at her for another moment before exiting the castle, flying off towards the gate. _Good_, Kirin thought. _While he's busy, I can visit the Aensland family tomb. I think old Beliel could use some rise and shine_. Of course, it was possible that she would be unable to reincarnate the most powerful demon that had ever lived. After all, if Balteria had only tied with the bloke…

No. She was better than Balteria. That damned Cleric had stolen what should've been hers: the kingdom of Ectratin and the trust of the Necromancers. Then he'd killed her with her own sword…

But she had taken a page from Jedah Dohma, returning to finish what she'd started. And where better for her to start than the same place that Balteria had gained fame originally? _Take down the foundation of the old pillar, and build your own there…_ Kirin thought as she walked down the crypts.

After that… more recruiting.

* * *

_She's getting better_, Gallon thought as he battled with Miki. _Her speed's improved thanks to not using Chrono-bending, and that backpack helps her out even more._ He flipped up into the air, snapping his kicks down in rapid succession. The young Owikamki ducked to avoid the first kick, rolled, and then shot her feet up to smash the werewolf's shins.

Gallon quickly reversed the technique by bringing his feet up all the way and fired them down again, smashing into Miki's feet. The shock traveled through the Assassin's entire legwork, causing her to let out a yelp of pain. She returned the favor by expelling her fluid into spikes on her feet that stabbed into Gallon's and smashed them down. Talbain countered by stopping his fall with his hands and swinging around like a wheel, with Miki on the end. The Darkinarki could only brace herself as she was tossed into a tree.

"Like I asked before," Miki remarked as she walked out of the wreckage, hurt but not seriously, "why did you bring along a collection of paper weights?"

Gallon chuckled as he helped Miki regain her footing. "First of all," he started as he sat down and unwound, "it was funny. Second of all, you're never sure when you'll have to fight with weird conditions. Incidentally, how's that 'jump across the river by using the stones' training coming?"

Miki muttered something before answering. "I can land on the third stone before stumbling usually. Fourth if I'm lucky."

"You see!" Gallon said as he stood back up, ready to walk again, "One week here and you're already getting better. Keep this up, and you'll be fine here." He continued walking, but then stopped, once again becoming a far more serious man. "No…" he said as he sniffed the air, "It can't be…" He ran off, almost as if hunting something. Miki quickly followed him, wondering just what was going on.

When Miki finally caught up to him, he was holding a strange demon by the neck. "And this would be…" Miki asked, wondering just what was going on.

"Jedah Dohma," Gallon stated as he tossed the still weak demon to the ground. "Vampire Savior, creator of the land of Majigen, and the strongest demon alive..."

"Or former strongest demon," Jedah remarked as he struggled to stand up. He looked at Gallon and his new partner. So this was the girl that everyone in Makai was looking for.

* * *

_Just a little further…_ Morrigan thought as she struggled to finish climbing down the mountain where the Gate was. _Just…gotta get back home…_ but a sight caused her to shiver in fear.

Out of the sky came a well-dressed Vampire, smirking at his rival's current condition. "My my my," Demitri remarked as he picked the succubus up by the neck, "I'm surprised you had the strength to dress yourself properly."

"Go to hell, Maximoff," Morrigan growled. She was exhausted and woozy, and it was quite evident from her voice.

"What? No sexual remarks? Morrigan, I thought you better than this!" Demitri laughed as he slapped her hard across the face. He slapped her again, much harder, and the Aensland was knocked out. "That wasn't much fun," Demitri said to Morrigan's unconscious form as he carried her back to Castle Aensla -no, Castle Enslade. Best to rip her arrogance away in privacy.

* * *

_Thank you, Anita_, Donovan thought as he looked down at the little girl as he walked through the bloody remains of a canyon that had once been full of demons. _The courage you had…_ he shook his head again. Enough thinking about his temporary fall from grace…

The demons had all been dead by the time he had gotten there, but the half-Vampire sensed something even more sinister lingering. Something that felt like one thing: Death. A never-ending wave of death that permeated the very air of this dark world, scaring even the most hardened demons into thinking there might just be monsters in _their_ closets.

The Darkhunter tightened his grip on Dylek, spinning around and tossing it into a slightly darker wall facing as a woman wearing a white dress stepped out, blocking the sword with a massive other made of bone.

"Kirin Enslade, I presume?" Donovan asked as his sword flew back and returned to him. He looked down at Anita, who just stared back at Kirin for a moment before shaking her head in fear.

Kirin smiled and bowed before generating another sword to put in her other hand. "Understand that this is nothing personal. She's just a threat to me and I'd prefer putting her under lock and key."

"Naturally," Donovan answered as he charged, smashing down with Dylek and cutting through both of the bone weapons Kirin used, protecting Anita with all his power. Kirin then formed a pair of staffs to use instead, letting the Gift of Chaos repel the best of Donovan's attacks, and taking the rest of them head-on.

Donovan was a much greater challenge than any of the others, Kirin had to admit that. Jedah had been too reliant on his magic, Donovan was using physical means of fighting far more than any spell. He kept pressing harder and harder, some sort of energy just below the surface. Yet Kirin was far older than him and was smiling on the inside at Donovan's inability to grasp the full powers of the sword he was using.

A slash across the arm caught Kirin out of her introspective thought, and the woman was quick to jump back before another one caught her on her neck. Plan B, then.

Spines shout up through the entire area, but Donovan jumped back to avoid the subterranean technique. Anita was not as lucky as a quiet cry of pain shocked Donovan out of the battle. He turned back, seeing that the spines had formed a rudimentary cage, trapping Anita inside. He turned back, charging Kirin with fury in his eyes when he suddenly tripped on a horizontal spine on the ground.

The monk stumbled forward, catching one of Kirin's spines in the stomach as Anita's cries of shock echoed through the bare environment. Kirin then smiled and walked over to her, kneeling down and looking her in the eyes.

"You're something special, aren't you?" the older woman asked. Anita just looked at her with a quiet fury. "Him? Oh… he'll be fine once I'm done with him." Still nothing from her.

And then she spoke. "I won't do what you say… and you won't control me."

Kirin smiled again. "Of course not. I have no idea what you're capable of, even though I know you're at _least_ as strong as Jedah was. Of course… I'd prefer not pushing my luck, so I may lock you up… but otherwise… you'll be fine."

Anita glared at Kirin as she walked away and revived Donovan, fighting back the tears. She would _not_ get away with this.

* * *

"Why are we even brining him along?" Miki asked as she herded a bitter Jedah along. "You yourself said he tried to kill everyone on Makai and Earth!"

"Yeah," Gallon said as he paused and decided where to go when the path split in two. He'd been so serious this whole time, keeping one eye on Jedah and wondering just if the demon's story was true. "But if this 'Kirin' can do this to him, who knows how strong she really is?"

"She…had the Gift of Chaos…" Jedah whispered to no one in particular as he recalled the battle. Everything he sent at her faded out of existence. Even when Demitri, Morrigan, Phobos, Gallon, and Donovan had all fought against him to destroy Majigen, he did manage to give them some trouble. But against Kirin…he couldn't lay a _finger_ on her!

_The Gift of Chaos_, thought Miki, _Could it be…my God! The worse than even Jedah thinks! _"I think I know what we're up against," Miki said as she stopped. "And it isn't good."

Gallon and Jedah turned around, wondering just what Miki knew about Kirin. But they quickly dove down, and Gallon tackled Miki out of the path of a heart-shaped projectile. They looked up, seeing Lillith Aensland standing there with a sadistic look on her face.

"Three people Lady Enslade wants captured. And I'd just come for Miki alone!" She dove down, firing her heart blasts at them.

"Miki, run!" Gallon shouted as he charged Lillith. "Just get Jedah out of here!" He clawed at Lillith, who effortlessly blocked them with her wings before kicking Jon away. Another blast slammed into Gallon, knocking him out. When Lillith turned around, she saw Jedah and Miki running in opposite directions.

_Best to go after the girl first_, Lillith thought as she double-checked Gallon. He was good and knocked out. Now for Miki…

Owikamki was running as fast as she could as Lillith flew after her from the treetops, raining down destruction from the sky. She kept running, but Miki's luck ran out very quickly as she found herself cornered between a cliff and Lillith. She turned around, hoping she might be able to take down the succubus, but it was a weak hope.

"Two choices," Lillith said as she touched down on the ground. "Come with me willingly, or I'll kill you. You're a wild card in this situation… and Kirin wants to know what you can do." Her wings spread apart, and Miki quickly noticed the bracer on her left arm.

"You're just a pawn, aren't you?" Miki asked as she traced a curved line on the ground with her foot. "Kirin doesn't care whether you live or die."

Lillith laughed at Miki's foolishness. "Just a pawn? Please, I'm her Knight on the chessboard." She stood in a mocking manner, egging Miki to attack her.

"Time to die!" Miki shouted as she charged at her foe, slashing down with her wrist blades. As Miki diced through her foe, Lillith's entire body vanished in a swirl of black smoke.

"Over here," Lillith breathed into Miki's ear as she slammed her fist into the Assassin's left side. Miki turned and looked at her foe, realizing once again that the person she was fighting was toying with her. "Like my newest technique? I call it the Illusion Fist."

_Dammit! _Miki thought as she tried to land another attack only to succumb to the Illusion Fist again. _Even with Chrono-bending, I can't land a blow!_ She backed away, only to be grabbed from behind. Miki then grinned and chuckled. "Funny thing about grabbing me…" Miki said before a spike shot out of her neck and slashed into Lillith's cheek.

"YOU BITCH!" Lillith shouted as she let Miki go and smashed into the nine-year old's head with her feet. As Miki staggered forward, Lillith felt her face. She breathed a sigh of relief. "You're lucky. Otherwise I'd kill you right here." Miki scrambled to get to her feet, only to be battered around with tentacles formed from Lillith's magical red bats. "Pathetic!" Lillith snarled as she slammed into Miki again and again, knocking the B-class fighter around like a rag doll. But Lillith went too far.

As fateful attack knocked Miki off the ledge and the Darkinarki fell into the abyss, holding onto the edge with her bare hands.

"Rather persistent, aren't you?" A tentacle wrapped around Miki's waist, and Lillith positioned the girl above the middle of the cliff. If she fell, there was no way to grab ahold of anything. "Last chance. Surrender or die."

"Go to hell," Miki said as Lillith let go, dropping Miki to her death in the foggy depths.

"Oh well," Lillith said as she turned around and began flying back to the incapacitated Gallon, "It's not the end of the world. One dead, one crippled, and one captured. Not a bad haul. Too bad Owikamki wasn't as good as Kirin thought…" She quickly found Talbain again and flew off with him, back to Castle Enslade.

* * *

"I don't understand why you just didn't kill them like the others," Demitri asked as he and Kirin looked at Morrigan and Gallon, tied up against each other in a pair of chairs. They were both not fully awake yet, and Kirin would enjoy what they'd say to each other.

"Because it doesn't work like that," Kirin answered as she walked away. "I have to get them at a moment when they're surprised and shocked. I could've gotten Jedah because his ego was so severely deflated, but he escaped. I got the rest because I killed them when their focus was shattered. I'm trying to be a cautious conqueror. Talbain's wolf side might just lash out if I push to hard… and I know how dangerous a cornered animal can be. And Morrigan's not going to be able to be awake enough to know what would happen. So I have to settle with what I have. And as for you…"

"Certainly, Kirin. The house of Maximoff welcomes you…" The Vampire slowly moved for Kirin's neck, but the demon knocked him away as she cut him short.

"Try that again and I might just have to spend a whole millennium regaining your power," Kirin retorted as she pushed Demitri away with a hand and walked away. "You haven't earned _that_ much trust from me, at least not yet."

Normally Demitri would've gritted his teeth from a remark like this, but not today. Today, Morrigan Aensland was finally paying her dues for those decades of haughty remarks and casually ignoring him. Today, she'd be broken down and rebuilt as he saw fit. Kirin, on the other hand, would come later. Much later.

* * *

When Morrigan woke up, she noticed she was tied to a chair. Or at least that's what she thought it was, considering she could barely see straight.

"So you're awake," said a voice behind her. She looked around, noticing a furry blue mass tied to a chair behind her. She instantly recognized him as that werewolf…Jon Talbain, or Gallon, as he sometimes called himself. Yeah…he was one of the ones that helped her beat Jedah a few years ago…

"What…going on?" She asked as she tried to break free of her bindings. No good. Her head was still spinning, but at least she could tell where she was.

"Don't know," Gallon said as he focused. Who knew what Morrigan would try to get out of here? He would have to let his feral side keep his human -and corruptible- side from succumbing to anything she might try. "All I know is that your 'sister' is in on the situation, whatever it is."

"Joy," Morrigan muttered as she looked around the room. It was barred and she was stuck in here, but with that same nagging desire to find Lillith… almost like what Lillith had gone through when she'd come after her. "So what do we do here? Play the waiting game with Demitri and this 'Kirin'?"

"Don't know," Gallon answered. "Any idea why we were captured?"

"Why are you asking me? It's not like I've been awake. All I know is that a few nights ago I was out doing my usual tours around human cities when I felt a lot more tired than I should've been. Before I knew it, I could've sworn I saw Lillith out there, which is impossible."

"Or is it?" Gallon asked, almost to himself. "If Kirin is as powerful as people say, could she really be able to reincarnate demons? And if so, could she bring back your 'father'?"

Morrigan's blood froze over again as the thought sunk in. If Kirin was able to turn Lillith, who was normally a fairly innocent and curious succubus into a loyal fighting machine, what could happen to her adoptive father Beliel? She shuddered at the thought of Beliel, who'd lived his life in a way not unsimilar to hers (minus the rampant sex and replacing it with maybe some casual fighting), turning into a warrior that would obey any command Kirin gave her. This thought quickly eroded to another fear as she realized that for the first time in her life, Demitri could have his way with her.

The door to the room opened as the aforementioned Maximoff stepped in, relishing how long and painful the process of breaking Morrigan would be. And there would be Gallon, listening to the screams of a less-than-evil woman and unable to help.

* * *

_Magnificent_, Kirin thought as she looked at the corpse of Beliel Aensland. _Beliel Aensland, you _will_ be mine…_she pressed her hand on the giant's forehead, focusing as a blue aura surrounded her. _Come on…I can do this! Come back, you big blue bastard!_

But it was all for naught, because Beliel's corpse stayed that way. Kirin swore as she left the crypts; she needed her rest before she tried again. And Jedah was _still_ out there. She'd have to send her ranks after him. That zombie, Raptor, would be a good choice. Not to mention he'd been under her control immediately, considering he was a zombie and all, and controlling the dead was what Necromancy was all about. She looked at those that were fighting for her as she passed the main hall.

She smiled as she looked down at them, smiling.

The Soul Bees might have followed Jedah… but they usually would work for whoever gave them what they wanted: countless souls to consume. They had been easy enough due to Necromancy. The aforementioned Zabel was unfortunately undead… and Necromancy could deal with that likewise.

And then there was Bulleta… so confused and full of hatred for that damn Owikamki. And so… untalented compared to Donovan…

* * *

Jedah slowly staggered towards the abyss where Miki had fallen and sighed. There was no way left to stop Kirin then. Perhaps that Chaos user could have fight Kirin on her own ground…if she were stronger and had a more mature body. But Miki was dead now. It wasn't like she could fly.

But from the depths, a female voice was heard, a scream of exertion.

A/N: Next chapter, Miki and Jedah will have to face off against a supercharged Lord Raptor. But can Miki figure out a way to kill the unkillable? And even if she can, can Owikamki help Jedah prepare for his rematch against Kirin? Find out next time in What? Me Train You?


	6. What!  Me train you?

A/N: I don't own Darkstalkers.

Another scream of exertion pierced the silence as Jedah stood in awe. Slowly, the body of Miki Owikamki rose from the fog in between grunts of stress from the young Assassin. Jedah quickly flew down to save her just as Miki's last bit of strength gave out and she was starting to fall.

"Where did _that_ come from?" Jedah asked as he landed back on the ground and dropped her. "I didn't know you could fly, but I must say it needs improvement."

"Get bent," Miki muttered as she struggled to get to her feet. "Any idea how hard it is to try to pull yourself up from a hole with your own black holes while having to worry about the stress you have to put yourself through? It's hell, and it's also just another limit to my abilities. But at least," she took a moment to sit down again and catch her breath, "I could do it."

Jedah stood in wonderment, finally realizing just how unique Miki was here in Makai. Minimal magic abilities were compensated for by gravity manipulation. Lack-luster strength was balanced out with skill some demons took centuries to attain, and she seemed to get better with each mistake she made.

"You use the same sort of energy that Kirin uses, don't you?"

Miki nodded and tried to stand up again. "It's called 'Gen', and just like you said, it's the chaotic life-energy, sort of like how Chi is the orderly life-energy. It's in everybody, just at different amounts. You _could_ build up your Gen, however, even if you usually don't normally use it."

A thought just occurred to Jedah. If he could harness the Gen inside himself; master using it, then he could very likely defeat Kirin in a rematch. Her Gift of Chaos could only weaken non-chaotic magic, so anything created by Gen ought to be able to hurt her. And if he could then master using it and obtain the "Gift of Chaos", then maybe he could rebuild Makai and not be defeated. Of course, Miki would have to "disappear", or else the fact might leak out to others. "Could you…" he started before helping Miki finally get her footing, "teach me how to use this 'Gen'? I may need it to defeat Kirin, if I ever fight her again."

Miki chuckled as she walked away. "Gallon told me a lot about you, Lord Jedah Dohma. If I put you on a new level of power, what's to stop you from just recreating Majigen and uniting all souls again?"

_Damn! That blasted werewolf already told her!_ Jedah thought as he ground his teeth. "You have my word as a noble demon I would do no such thing with what you would teach me."

"Your word as a demon?"

"_Noble_ demon," Jedah corrected.

Miki stopped. "Me teach you. A little girl showing Jedah, a demon that's lived for countless centuries, something he doesn't know. Don't you love life's little quirks?" She turned around. "Okay, first of all, you have to remove yourself from your Chi. If you don't, you'll never build up your Gen." She walked back, wondering if this was a smart idea.

* * *

Morrigan suppressed the fear as Demitri picked out two nasty looking hooks and walked slowly towards her. "Last chance," he sneered as he readied two less-than-friendly looking meathooks. "You should know I'm going to do things to you… that couldn't be considered pleasure on any level. So what's your final word?"

But Gallon answered for the paralyzed Morrigan. "As much of a terrible creature she is, Demitri, even succubi have standards. I'm sure you understa-" But he never finished, because Demitri slammed the back of one of the hooks into Gallon's head, knocking him silent.

Demitri then looked at his prize, smiled, then cut two nasty gashes across her cheeks. He knew that even for demons, it took countless days to heal from cheek cuts. And even when the wounds healed, two scars would be there for all eternity, reminding Morrigan of what he did to her this day. "I think that's enough for today. Feel free to scream. If you just give up, I'd be glad to give you one of these." He produced a pair of red mirror shards in his hand, looking at them. "In fact…" he stabbed one into Morrigan's left cheek, instantly healing in cut scar-free. The Vampire, content with his work today, walked away. "Three little words…Morrigan. And then maybe someday I'll treat you like an equal. Know what those three words are?"

"You dirty bastard…" Morrigan rasped as she winced from the pain.

"Not the three I was hoping for, but we can work on that."

* * *

Kirin was also intently looking at a mirror shard, but for a very different reason. Damn the God of Order and his accursed Plague! Damn Beliel and her inability to reincarnate him, after over fifty attempts! Balteria and Guarnig had been cremated, meaning there was no corpse to resurrect! She grunted in frustration, flinging the normal mirror shard into another mirror.

"You know that's a total of fourteen years of bad luck, don't you?" Demitri said as he walked in on her.

"So you broke Morrigan that quickly?" Kirin looked at the arrogant Maximoff. Arrogant, but with an impressive level of strength. And it wasn't like she'd be here much longer anyways. Demitri was just another pawn, with a broken succubus as a queen as much as a slave, and a few of her resurrected underlings. Now if the people she actually trusted to do work could get here… well, that was far too optimistic. Best to let Ymu and the rest just relax in Niesek. In a couple of years she'd reemerge. That'd be the smart thing

"Best to toy with her for a few days. I've waited a long time for this. I can wait a few more days, maybe a few weeks. I must say, I do love how you make those shards," Demitri continued as he watched Kirin scoop up the mirror's fragments as they turned either blue or red and then handed several to him. "So what're you going to do?"

Kirin walked down the main hall. "Well, I'm going to wait and see if I lose contact with Raptor. If I do, then that means I'll probably be here a few more days at best. If I don't, then things might be shaping up for you and me."

"And the rest of your… entourage?"

"Under your complete control, if I leave." She then looked at him, smiling. "Of course, you've been very cooperating with this whole thing, and I thank you for that." Of course, Lillith would dispose of him. Kirin never trusted vampires.

Not after Bern Aniar.

* * *

"It isn't working!" Jedah growled as he tried again to form his scythes from pure Gen. It wasn't worth the time to practice this over and over again. "Besides, I can't see you do that!"

Miki stood there, with a look between amusement at Jedah's failures and frustration at his snide remarks. "I told you before. I don't do the whole 'use energy to make attacks' thing. You're supposed to. And if you can get this thing down, it's half the battle. Then you just have to learn to use Gen in different ways. But after this, it gets _very_ easy."

For two days they had been at it, Miki sensing whenever Jedah was starting to grow in Gen and stepping his training up. Jedah looked at her, cursing the whole idea in the first place, and attempted to focus again. "I could've used a soul like yours when I made Majigen," he remarked as he reached into his soul, his being, for that strange Chaotic energy. "A world of perfection, something grand."

"Sounds like Mr. Domah knows a bit about Necromancy too, with all his 'uniting souls' lines," Miki retorted "Doesn't work. Besides, what happens if you fail?"

"Pessimism never solves anything," Jedah answered back.

"Worst case scenario planning _does_," Miki countered. "There are easier ways to end infighting, anyways. Balteria being a banner of courage on Alcemia certainly helped end the war he fought in. Probably did some good here too."

Jedah laughed uncontrollably at the last part. "That damned Necromancer doing _good_ here? Did you hear what happened when he'd fight armies? He was like a virus! He'd strike down one demon, just one demon, and that demon would rise again and fight with him! And with every enemy that fell, they'd rise up and fight alongside the human with his damned abilities! And he fought Beliel Aensland to a draw, dammit! A human, doing what a hundred "A+"-class demons couldn't! Do you have any idea what that would did here? Suddenly demons began thinking that perhaps their higher-ups weren't as powerful as everyone said! That meant civil war! And why do you keep bringing him back up? What's his whole connection with Kirin?"

Miki quickly remembered just what Kirin was, and she motioned for Jedah to stop, because she wanted his full attention. "Sorry about forgetting about that. Let's start from the top. Kirin Enslade, Jedah, was Balteria's greatest nemesis 190 years ago. But our story starts several decades before then, when Balteria and Kirin were born, albeit into two different lives. Balteria was born to be a Cleric, a priest, and a protector of Order. Kirin, on the other hand, was the daughter of the last Mage alive, Ireknir, from where I come from, Alcemia. But I'm getting off track.

"Now at this time, the Necromancers were slowly sliding down the proverbial foodchain, due to a humiliating defeat by the Clerics about a hundred years earlier. But they were the lucky ones, because the Mages were almost completely wiped out-"

"Save for Ireknir," Jedah interrupted.

"Good to know you're listening. Now as I was saying, Balteria was sent to the Necromantic city of Ectratin as a peacekeeper, but the Necromancers he saw there were little more than excuses for humans. Balteria soon found himself against the Clerics as he tried to aid the Necromancers that had not even been around for the Mage War, and eventually declared himself a Necromancer."

"The Cursed Necromancer…"

"That name came came from religious nuts saying he would die soon. Anyways, Kirin, on the other hand, wanted revenge against the Clerics, and the Necromancers who were slowly becoming friendly with the priests. To get the manpower she needed, she made pacts with dead spirits and demons of my planet, Alcemia, to wage war."

"Roughly at about that time there was an exodus of some demons that left for parts unknown," Jedah commented. "It's likely Alcemia's demons were the same that left here. It _would_ explain how we both know about the Aniars. But as you were saying?"

"Thank you. Anyways.Kirin, having access to her now-dead father's entire library, soon became a great Necromancer as well, and became known as the Reincarnator, just an alias implying she was a demon, not a human. Under this new name she-" but another voice cut her off.

"Waged war until Balteria Ciercin and his former master, the Supreme Arch-Cleric Guarnig challenged her in her, and discovered that the supposed demon was in fact a woman before killing her. But Kirin swore she'd return, and she did," came an Australian voice as a zombie stepped out of the forest into the meadow where Miki and Jedah were standing. "And the next part of Kirin's legacy will be written here until she returns to Alcemia and builds Chaos in her own image!"

"Another of Kirin's people?" Miki asked as she stood up to stand against him.

"A zombie by the name of Zabel Zarock, although he calls himself Raptor now," Jedah said as he stood with her. This would be a good test of his powers. With any luck, Raptor and Miki would kill each other, and he could finally defeat Kirin without distraction. "Of course, I see he has one of those Chaos bracers you were talking about," he said as he looked at the light-blue bracer with the Seal of Chaos on Zabel's left wrist. "That won't be a problem anymore."

"Whatever," Miki said as she charged. Lillith had been _way _too strong, but how bad could a zombie be?

WHAM! The young Owikamki slammed her fist into Raptor's gut, but the rockstar simply spun with the blow, knocking both his legs into Miki's face. _Okay…_ Miki thought_, Can't do this without a plan._ Jedah had already sprung in, doing a decent job, despite the fact it was clear Raptor could take the still Chaotically weak Jedah. _Zombies don't like blunt weapons so…let's see if I can whip up a "blunt style"_. She expelled her black fluid over her arms to form gauntlets. She then jumped in to help Dohma, hoping they together could beat this new foe.

* * *

Morrigan couldn't help but look at a mirror as the blood flowed down her cheek. For countless decades, she'd maintained her beauty, and now… she would slowly destroy Demitri if she ever got her hands on him again. "Which won't be anytime soon," she muttered as a single tear slid down her face as well. Damn this whole situation! Kirin, Demitri, her own servants, even Lillith! Damn them all!

"Don't worry," Gallon said back to her. "Miki's not going to let anything happen to us, provided she gets here."

"And who's this 'Miki'?" she asked, wondering if she was some strange new demon that could match Kirin's power.

Talbain's answer did not encourage her. "She's a little nine-year old girl from another planet that's struggling with the darkness that she is."

"Oh, that girl. And she's going to be saving the day?"

"She will. She learns fast."

"Wonderful," but something bothered her. "You said she has a soul of darkness?"

"Indeed," Gallon answered. "Of course, if she accepts who and what she is… then she'll be possibly an S-Class, even if she'd be weaker than most demons."

"What's so special about her then?" Morrigan asked. At least the conversation kept her off the pain, if only part of it. "From what Demitri said a while ago, she doesn't have magic going for her, so what does she have?"

"She's got-"

* * *

_Ungodly skill!_ _That's what I value! _Miki thought as she traded a few blows with Raptor while Jedah caught his breath. _I know I can do this!_ She slipped down and charged by Raptor's left side, swinging a gauntlet wearing hand into Zabel's gut, knocking the wind out of him for a moment. But the zombie quickly recovered, shooting chainsaws out of his elbows similar to Miki's manner of elbow blades. The Darkinarki countered by slowly down time and jamming an elbow blade into the gears before jumping back.

"You're doing halfway decent. Lillith must _really've_ gotten pissed," Raptor said as he expelled the damaged weapon away and readied his sword instead.

"I don't think so," Jedah mused as he managed to fire a thin green bolt into the creature, blasting a hole through the zombie's head, knocking him to the ground.

"Don't be so dumb!" Miki shot back as she maintained her combat stance. Sure enough, Raptor found the strength to get back on his feet, the hole still there. "He's a zombie, remember? I thought you demons would've learned your lesson after Balteria schooled you." She leapt back into battle, blocking a vertical slash and using the attempt to punch him again in the gut. Jedah, however, decided to hang back and see who would win.

"It's really pathetic," Raptor said as he backhanded the girl away from him, "Like you can kill the living dead?" But something was starting to creep him out. Miki was standing there, completely open to attack, her face looking down at the ground, and she was laughing. "What's the matter? Finally cracked?" The remark was meant as an insult, but fear of the unknown was growing inside him.

Slowly, Miki's head raised up and she looked at the zombie's eyes with her own strange white pupils. "Pointless in my attacks, eh? I guess zombies don't have a sense of touch, and your sense of hearing must not be too good, either. I've cracked three of your ribs, meaning I can break you down, bone by bone. I think it's time I go after the rest." She charged again, almost too fast for Zabel to see.

_Calm down, Zabel! _He thought as he slashed down again, forcing her to block it with her gauntlets, _She's just a little girl, and if Lillith could beat her, so can you!_ The zombie chopped with both of his hands, creating his sword on his left. As soon as he saw her move to block it, he quickly switched which hand held the sword. Miki could only look in horror as it flung into her body, knocking dust and pollen into the air as a smokescreen. When the dust settled, Miki was gone. "Got her." Zabel said as a smile formed on his lips.

A strange whirring noise pierced the battlefield, and before Zabel knew it, he was knocked back by the blast, flying into a tree as he looked at a triumphant Jedah. _Perfect…_ Jedah thought,_ the girl is dead, and in just a moment, so is Raptor_. The massive scythe ground up the zombie with intensity that would make a fast food meat grinder seem obsolete as Jedah grinned. "I did learn several things from Owikamki," Jedah said as Zabel struggled to overcome the force that was killing him. "First, I learned about Gen, then I learned how to use it. And then… I LEARNED EVEN THE UNKILLABLE CAN SPEND ALL OF ETERNINTY IN A BILLION, RIPPED UP PIECES!" He put more force into the attack, finally turning the zombie into those aforementioned little chunks. "Good riddance."

"I should say so," said as voice as Jedah looked over and noticed that there was somebody standing on the only thing remaining of Raptor: his sword. Standing on top of it was Miki, shaken at what Jedah had just done, but otherwise fine.

"How did… you do that?"

Miki shrugged. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." She hopped off the blade and walked away. "Well, are we going to go after Kirin or what?" She started to walk off, only to be smashed in the back of the head by Jedah.

_Time to die…_ he raised his hand to land the finishing blow, but then stopped

_Besides, what happens if you fail?_

Jedah clenched his fists as he decided against it. _Damn worst case scenario…_ Shifting the blame would be easy enough… but he'd need a good place to hide her. "Makai's going to be filled with people searching for the girl. Guess Earth's the best place to go." He scooped up Miki's unconscious form, hoping the Gate wouldn't be too badly guarded.

* * *

Kirin sighed as she felt her connection with Raptor almost completely severed. Jedah had beaten him. _Shit_, she thought as she flew to the top of Castle Enslade. Things were going to go downhill, and she might not be able to come back to life again. Then again… she was better than Balteria. That foolish bastard let himself die when the Plague came. She could come back… again and again.

A/N: Next chapter, Jedah finally has his rematch against Kirin! But Miki has her hands full trying to get used to _another_ planet and ends up seeking solace in a nice home. Things get complicated when she discovers two of the residents there have their own history in Makai, and gets even worse when Donovan and Bulleta track her down in The Demonic Duos!


	7. The Demonic Duos

A/N: I don't own Darkstalkers.

and mean talking in Chinese.

_Why not have one last shot at it…_ Kirin thought as she got tired of waiting for Jedah. Apparently, Dohma was biding his time, possibly getting better at using his Gen. It would just be something she'd have to deal with. Anyways, one final attempt to revive Beliel Aensland couldn't hurt too badly. As she walked by the room that Gallon and Morrigan were being held in, Enslade wondered just why Demitri was taking his sweet time in breaking Morrigan. That was the blunder of many villains, and she suspected that the act would bite him in the ass, sooner or later.

As the Reincarnator walked down to the Aensland catacombs, she located Beliel's resting-place and walked up to the corpse. Kirin placed her hand on the giant's head, and focused, trying to bring the demon back to life, albeit under her control. After a few frustrating moments, she gave up on it. Once again, it was an acceptable loss, just like her death that would inevitably be from Jedah's hands. It was just something you had to risk, and she was willingly to play the roulette wheel and lose the company payroll, because she _always_ used somebody else's payroll. She just hoped that things were going fine in Niesek.

_Great_, Miki thought as she woke up. _Shouldn't have trusted Jedah. Now where the hell am I?_ The Darkinarki looked around, taking in the environment. A blue sky and a normal hued forest. "I guess I can count out Makai… Just wonder how to get back. Then again, could I be back on Alcemia?" No… seemed to different.

Whatever the case, it wasn't too different than Alcemia… although Miki was used to living in Ectratin, which was located on a volcano. It was fairly dark out, which Miki was thankful for. She guessed that people here had never seen Darkinarki and that the Darkstalkers were only known to a select few, so the only thing the people saw was a young, black-garbed girl walking around town.

Who do you think she is? asked the older of the two twins as she ducked a roundhouse from her sister.

Don't know. She looks like she'd be around from here, but I've never seen her before. She almost looks like a ninja, with that black outfit.

"Uh…excuse me?" Miki asked as she walked up to them, lowering her gaze so they couldn't see her eyes. "I'm not from around here and I was wondering if I could sleep here tonight." When the two stopped fighting and looked at her with confusion, it finally sunk in that they didn't know a word she was saying. _Crap_. She quickly thought. She put her palms together, and moved her head to create the image of somebody sleeping. She then pointed to their house, hoping they'd respond in a similar matter.

You think she wants to sleep here? asked the older girl, wondering if this could be a problem. We don't even know who she is!

Don't worry, Lin-Lin! I'm sure it's not anything we can't handle! She pointed back at their house and nodded. Miki then bowed, and all three of them walked in. Unfortunately, as the mother and father turned to look at Miki, they gasped. The home was well lighted and the four-person family quickly saw her inverted eyes.

Miki knew her life was over unless she figured something out right there and then, which is why she quickly Chrono-Bent for the precious moments to figure something out. She couldn't think up anything, and talking and explaining her situation was unlikely, as if they'd even believe her. Her eyes scanned the entire house for what seemed like an eternity for her but was only about three seconds. Her eyes finally found something that could help. She pointed to the television, which was luckily showing a commercial for contact lenses. She then pointed back to her eyes.

You mean… the father asked, those are contact lenses?

It's not impossible! Lin-Lin said to Miki's defense, I mean, I've seen some of the weirder ones than that at some stores. I bet she just needs to take them out She pointed down the hall, then to her right, and then held up three fingers.

_Third on the right, got it!_ Miki said as she bowed down again and ran down into what seemed to be a bathroom. "Okay…" Miki said aloud, knowing fully well that nobody would understand a word she said. Or so she thought… "There's gotta be something I can do." She closed the door and sat down, meditating. This was a bad situation, but she had been in worse. _Master Kalazi, what do I do?_ She tried to recall any situation that could help her out.

And it came to her. It had been four years ago, and it was training in astronomy. When you were a member of a race that could bend light, that sort of thing was required, as was knowing rudimentary physics. She'd learned then that if you could use black holes to manipulate light, then you could change appearances. It was dangerous, and usually unnecessary, but here it could mean life or death. She looked into the mirror, calling upon her black hole manipulation powers to manipulate the pigment of her eyes and the light reflected off them, slowly changing them to a normal color. Eventually, her black scleras and white pupils were replaced by normal hazel-colored eyes. "Glad I dealt with that." She walked out, smiling at the family.

The night went without trouble, although Miki failed to understand much of dialog the family said. Nevertheless, Miki was treated as a guest, did whatever they were able to imply through hand gestures, and slept on a couch when she was feeling tired. When she woke up, she checked the clock.

It was four in the mourning.

Feeling fresh as a morning daisy when it wasn't morning meant Miki couldn't get to sleep to save her life… so there was one option: wearing herself out. Besides… a few thoughts were stirring in Miki's head as she silently slipped to the back yard and cracked her neck.

Gallon always had drilled her on fighting when one's advantages had been taken away. Considering her personal preference of skill over power and speed… perhaps that wasn't a bad idea. Some sort of fighting style that would devise its moves on-the-spot… constantly reacting to what the opponent did?

Sounded good. Now just a name… she was essentially giving a flawed reflection of the enemy's attacks, in a way…

"Broken Mirror," she decided finally.

"What's 'Broken Mirror'?" asked a voice behind her as Miki spun around, almost forming her wrist blades until she saw that it was just those two girls.

_Dammit… my cover is… wait a second! _"You speak-"

"English?" asked the older sister.

"English?" Miki repeated.

The two girls looked at each other, confused now more than ever. Then they saw her eyes, and their expression changed. "Those… aren't contact lenses… are they?" asked the younger one, who was actually moving in front of the older one in an act of protection.

"No… they're not. But I guess I should start from the top then…" Miki thought as she casually sighed. Then there was a flash of movement, and in front of her, having blocked a stab of those wrist blades, was a bluish creature with massive claws. Miki then relaxed and pulled away. "I guess we should _both_ start from the top then."

_What's the point of going on?_ Morrigan thought. Her body was bloody and injured so badly, and she was starting to think she'd keep that scar on her face, just to remind herself of what Demitri did and what she'd do to get back at him. Not to mention after all she'd gone through, it was actually the least gruesome injuries she had. For days now, she'd lost the strength to speak, which meant she couldn't release the pain in screams, and had to just let it bottle up.

"If it makes you feel any better, it's hell for me too," Gallon spoke up, trying to offer support to the succubus.

Like it really is? Morrigan thought. 

"Imagine getting all your worse memories flashing by your eyes when you hear the screams of a woman. I've my own personal demons that I'd rather forget about," Gallon explained, almost as if he knew what Morrigan was thinking. He started to rest the back of his wolf head on the back of hers, but stopped. Best not to put any additional strain on her. "We'll get through this."

The door opened, and Kirin stood there, looking at the two captives. "I'll be dying here soon," she said, almost like it didn't bother her whatsoever, "And you two should be glad to know that I'm feeling generous." She tossed a few mirror shards into Morrigan's wounds, undoing a bit of what Demitri had inflicted. "Consider it a gift."

"And in exchange?" Morrigan said, the shock of having the strength to talk hitting her only after she said those remarks.

Kirin chuckled. "Nothing serious. I just want to know one little thing about your father, Morrigan."

"Leave Beliel out of this," the Aensland said, feeling as if this was a chance to regain some dignity. "He's dead and I'd prefer you don't lay a finger on my father's remains."

Kirin walked up and matched eye level with Morrigan before continuing. "Don't worry. Your beloved father is still as dead as possible, which is rather frustrating to me, but I've gotten over it. All I want to know his how long the fight between he and Balteria Ciercin lasted."

Morrigan couldn't see the harm in answering, but to be safe, "And if I were to tell you?"

"Then I leave you alone for the rest of the time I'm here."

"What about Demitri and Lillith?" Maybe she could get some leverage, and God knew she needed some leverage.

"I'm sure I can _persuade_ Demitri to leave you alone… and I'm sure Lillith would like to be a host body. You have to admit, it's better than being stuck up in here." Kirin gestured around the dull, small room. "Not like you wouldn't have a say-so in what she does. I recall her having some say in what _you _did."

"And Gallon? What about him?" she didn't give much of a damn about him, but he had tried not to make this too hard on her.

"Nothing bad will happen to him. I give my life on that promise."

Morrigan started to whisper something, something about how long the fight lasted and Kirin couldn't quite catch it. As she moved closer to Morrigan, the succubus spat in her face. "Your life, which you said would be over soon, right?"

Kirin wiped off the spittle, walked away, and shot an icy look at Morrigan. "Fine. I'm sure Demitri… or Lillith… could use a good woman once I'm out of here." She placed her middle and index fingers to her head in a mock salute. "As Jedah once said to me, 'Seeing You'." She closed the door, and was gone.

"That went better than I hoped," Jon remarked after some time.

"Can it. I'm trying to figure a way out. If I just had a little more energy…"

"Not like you're going to get any in here," Gallon said, interrupting her train of thought. He closed his eyes. "This is getting tiresome. Sweet dreams."

_Dreams…_ Morrigan thought as an idea came to her. _Gallon… you're smarter than you think…_

"Perfect," Jedah said as he finally perfected his Gen manipulation. Everything was set… and the very attacks that had failed him before would now rip Kirin Enslade to shreds. He walked up to Morrigan's castle, knocking on it with his hand. After a few moments, the door opened, and standing there was Kirin.

"A little late, aren't you?" Enslade asked as she opened the door further and then walked in to the hallway, gesturing Jedah to follow. The demon, not knowing Kirin's aim, followed. If she had wanted to attack him with surprise, she could've when he was outside, practicing. "If you want, I've arranged a little arena in the castle. I'm sure you wouldn't object to fighting in it?"

"What, no attempt at an ambush?"

Kirin laughed at how naïve Jedah could be. "Please! I already know you're going to kill me in the fight and I've gotten over that. Besides, you can use Gen now, right? All those Gift of Chaos bracers wouldn't be any good, would they? I'm content with just fighting you one-on-one now."

_I already know you're going to kill me in the fight and I've gotten over that._ What was Kirin meaning? Did she somehow already know what would happen, or was she just messing with him? Or was she really this "Reincarnator" and used her Necromantic power to know what would happen? Miki had no reason to lie to him. He cracked his neck. He was going to take down an enemy that even Balteria Ciercin had needed help to beat. Of course, he had fought her a few years before coming to Makai for further training, but still! Balteria Ciercin was a man Jedah hated, but respected. Not any human could reach "S+"-class.

They soon walked into a small fighting arena, with Demitri and Lillith up in a private box, looking more at each other than at the combatants. _Does Kirin have any value of tradition?_ Jedah thought. _Maximoff…liking an Aensland… of course Lillith's nothing like she should be…all I ever did for her was give her a temporary body…_but Kirin knocked him out of his thoughts.

"Are you going to kill me now or what?" Kirin asked, assuming a combat stance as a grey fiery aura appeared around her.

"Soul-flame Ignition," Jedah mused as he returned the favor with his own black aura. "Too bad I know that one too." The technique itself was an Alcemian one, bringing the full power of one's soul to increase the strength of the body… but that was no matter now.

Kirin started off by sending off a number of her blue projectiles, but Jedah was ready and swatted them away with his hands, noticing the attacks barely pained him. He then dashed towards her, striking her with his scythe using impressive speed over and over again. Soon the quick attacks forced her to jump back. "Good to know you're up to my standards this time," Kirin said as she wiped a bit of red blood from her mouth. "Of course, can you match this?"

Before he knew what was going on, Kirin was behind him. She grabbed at his wrists, slammed her feet into his back, and pulled. As Jedah grunted in pain, he pulled back, flinging Kirin's head forward and smashing it into the back of his. She countered this by spreading her legs apart and smashing the sides of her feet into Jedah's ribcage.

"For the last time no!" Miki said, almost infuriated, "I'm not some ninja or 'kunoichi' as you call it! I don't need explosives or anything like that, and this outfit is fine enough for combat!" She had listened to the two girls talk about their adventures as the Kyong-shi that was referred to "Hsien-Ko", during an early breakfast and was now busy trying to explain that she was an assassin but not a ninja, but it was hard enough.

"But all that black!" Lei said back, "And you use those weird daggers and gadgets and-"

"But I wear black because I like it!" Miki explained, "A lot of Darkinarki do. Some like other colors, however. Some of the other trainees prefer green or another color all together. Black just goes well with my red hair, that's all. And the Darkinarki commandos usually travel light; just food, some money, and maybe a few sets of clothing. I don't need weapons, and I usually prefer making those different styles of blades instead of making a ton of daggers or things."

"It still sounds a lot like a ninja," Lin-Lin said. "And don't you use martial arts?"

Miki sighed again as she sipped some tea and let it sooth her frustrations. "Sorta… but I'm trying to come up with my own style. It's sorta like focusing moves and techniques I learn from fights."

"You mean _stealing _moves?" The twins said, almost in unison. They quickly quieted, trying not to waken their parents.

"Not really stole," Miki said, now trying to even she wasn't sure was going to work out right, "It's just that… if this fighting style works, I'm going to make it so when I fight somebody, I develop a strategy against their moves."

"But you said to lost to Lillith and you had trouble with Funechika and everything!" Lin said, reminding Miki of those two humiliating losses.

"Yeah…well, why do you think I'm trying to improve?"

_What's the matter with her!_ Jedah thought as he continued launching the offensive. The battle had been costly for both of them, and Kirin and he were bloody messes. _She's going to die and she doesn't care about it… almost like…shit!_ The answer came to him just as his last blow connected. Kirin caught the punch and kicked Jedah in the chest so his body snapped back. A sickening sound was heard as his arm broke. "I'm going to die in this fight too, right?"

Kirin smiled as blood fell dripped from her entire face. "You finally caught on. Two powerful beings, having died once before will die by each other's hands. Except I'll be back in just a few years while you…" she used the opportunity to blast him with another wave of blue energy, "won't be coming back ever again."

"What?" Jedah shouted as he managed to match Kirin's attack and send one of his own back at her. "I'll continue coming back, until the souls of Makai are saved from themselves!" It didn't stop hers, but it did mean Kirin would be killed not long after he would be.

"Except that act requires a bit of skill in Necromancy, right?" Jedah's wave had almost hit her.

"You mean…" Jedah himself had no defense against Necromancy… and that meant Kirin could easily seal away his soul.

The Vampire Savior had lost.

The blasts blew through both their bodies apart. Jedah had a look of horror on his face as he died, vowing revenge against Kirin and any that had served her if he ever returned. Kirin, however, was smiling. She'd be brought back in the kingdom of Niesek, and continue her plans there. When the magical beam finally died down, nothing was left of the bodies.

"Well then, that was a nice way to spend the day," Demitri remarked as he stood up. "Now what're we going to do for the rest of the day?"

Lillith shrugged. "Going after that girl is out of the question. Bulleta and Donovan are already on it. I'm sure they should be 'knocking' on their door any time now."

Demitri chuckled again. "Then that leaves the rest of the day open for other things, correct?" He smiled. Morrigan could wait.

"Indeed." Lillith matched his smile before they kissed while grinning on the inside. _Your time is almost up as a tool... Demitri Maximoff!_

A/N: With both Jedah and Kirin good and dead, what's Demitri and Lillith's next move? Will Miki be able to take on two experienced Darkhunters alone with the aid from the Broken Mirror? Or will two sisters have to call up a friend from the past to lend a hand? And what about Morrigan's plan to escape? Find out next chapter: Breaking the Spell.


	8. Breaking the Spell

A/N: I don't own Darkstalkers. I also found out about what happened to Donovan in the games, so I'll explain why he's back to being a Darkhunter even though he had lost his humanity.

When Gallon woke up, he found himself in his home, or where his home had been when he was a child. _This can't be real_, he thought as he stood up. A glance in the mirror confirmed this thought. _Not hairy, not wolflike, definitely a dream. Not like it's a problem, I could use a break from reality._ As he opened the door, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

"Fancy meeting you here," said a female voice as Jon spun around, shooting a hand out to grab at the intruder's neck. Even though he wasn't in werewolf form, he still remembered how to fight, and knocked Morrigan into a neck-hold.

"Why are you here?" Gallon asked in a less-than-hostile voice, although he kept his grip on the succubus's neck. "I didn't know you'd like to bother me here too." He increased his grip on her neck for a moment to make a point, then let go and walked out of the room.

"I'm here, because I could get some strength here," Morrigan answered, without a tone in her voice.

Gallon chuckled with a hint of hate. "I don't care how bad the situation is, I'm not going to have sex with you, even in a dream. Now get lost. I could use some time just to forget my troubles and unwind."

Morrigan giggled at how dense the werewolf could be. "I can get energy from people's dreams, remember? I'm just trying to get back some of the strength I should have but don't worry. It's not like I have to annoy you to get it." She stayed in the room and closed the door, leaving herself alone. _And now we play the waiting game…_Morrigan thought as she laid down on the bed, trying to gain the power she should have by default.

* * *

"You sure she's here?" Bulleta asked as slipped a pair of clips into her semi-automatic pistols. She didn't want to have to track the girl down again. They were standing in front of Lei-Lei and Lin-Lin's home, ready to fulfil Kirin's last request. Sure she was dead, but they were still loyal to her.

"Positive," Donovan answered as he readied his sword, "Although I sense a bit too much dark energy for one girl, no matter how powerful she was."

"Powerful?" Bulleta asked as they got in position, "She was a joke! Just… let me do the finishing blow. The first person she saw in Makai ought to be the last she sees, too."

"Symbolic value?" Donovan asked.

"Naturally. And also the fact that I can't let a nine-year old prove she's better than me." Bulleta walked up to the door, knocked on it, and called out loudly, telling Miki to come out and fight.

Lei-Lei and Lin-Lin were almost done explaining where they fit into the Darkstalkers to Miki when the Bulleta's challenge was heard, freezing all three of them in place for a moment. Without hesitation, Miki stood up and walked towards the door.

"You're crazy!" Lin-Lin yelled out as Miki started walking towards the door, "She's going to kill you!"

"We don't even know how many people are out there! You can't do this alone!" Lei-Lei added as Miki started turning the locks. "Let alone step out the front door!"

"I come from the front. It's how I work," Miki answered. "Don't get involved if you don't need to."

The two nodded and stepped away from the line-of-fire. "Don't worry… we know what to do!"

Meanwhile, Miki bent time so she'd have a few extra moments to think and cool her nerves. _I heard that girl's voice before…when I fell into that warehouse. Damn; I thought I'd lost her._ _Well… it's time to test out the Broken Mirror…_

As Miki opened the door, Bulleta was standing a distance away, her pistols already firing at her. On reflex, Miki jumped forward and to the left to dodge the bullets, but something very large shot out from the corner of her eye.

A giant sword, tossed from Donovan, came straight at her. Miki didn't bother looking at it, she already knew it was there, and if she turned to face it, it might move her head into a more vulnerable position. She tried to move forward enough to dodge it, but the blade slammed into her hair, and then somehow carried her against a wall and pinned her. When she tried to break free, she felt that something was holding her back.

"Don't bother," Donovan remarked as he readied his Iron Maiden. "Dylek can manipulate ice, so I froze your hair there. You're not going anywhere.

"I thought you said I'd be the one to do the finishing blow!" Bulleta yelled out as she reloaded her guns and ran up to Donovan's side.

"I did, but that's also implying she'll die from the Iron Maiden, but I'll be sure it won't _completely_ kill her."

The front door opened up again, and Lin-Lin and Lei-Lei were standing there, realizing just what had happened, having been fooled into believing the quiet meant the fight had already been over. Donovan paused for a moment, trying to recall who they were, remembering. Ah… the older could manipulate the younger when they had transformed. It was weak Necromancy at best, but with Kirin gone, he couldn't take any chances…

The Darkinarki tried to break free again, knowing she was forgetting something that could break her out, but she couldn't figure what. "I swear to God," she said, trying to recall just what it was, "That if you even lay a finger on them, I don't care how good a person you've been your whole life. I _WILL_ kill you!" Her speckled soul ignited around her, yet Bulleta just smiled.

"That so?" the older girl asked as she lined up a shotgun with Miki's head, but far enough away that Miki couldn't slash it with her wrist blades. "My only regret here is that there'll be so much of a splatter… but it's not a problem. Donovan, go right ahead. I got this one covered."

Donovan slammed the Iron Maiden into the two, and less than a second later, Bulleta pulled the trigger and blew Miki's brains out.

* * *

…Or at least that's what would've happened, except something snapped in the assassin. Her black soul intensified as a black edge shot out of the back of her neck again, this time cutting off a decent amount of her hair. By the time the gun had fired, Miki was beside Bulleta, slashing upwards with one arm and down the other. The girl could only scream as both her forearms fell to the ground. Miki then punched Bulleta in the neck, grazing it with her blades, and Bulleta blacked out. Meanwhile, Donovan had called back Dylek and charged forward, lightning shooting out at Miki.

The Broken Mirror guided her next move, slowing down time even further. _Lightning… I can control it…_ The attack returned back to its user, stunning Donovan for a split-second. Donovan quickly recovered and swung Dylek at her, but two obsidian gauntlets that were formed a second earlier stopped the attack. She slashed up Donovan's arms, in the process cutting off his bracer, and then jabbed into his face just below the eyes, stabbing him twice in the process. The Dhampir fell to the ground, bleeding from his injuries as well. Miki added one more kick to the head to make sure he was down.

Miki looked around at her two victims. They were bleeding, unconscious, but still alive. _Wow… Gallon's mentality on focusing on taking away an enemy's advantage _really_ paid off!_ But then the loss of life that she had been unable to stop sank in. Miki let her obsidian blades dissolve into black smoke and then slowly staggered towards the Iron Maiden trying to open it, but nothing seemed to work. The girls were stuck inside. Stupid kids…

She slammed her fist into it as a single tear. "Damn it! I thought they could be of some help…" she felt so different than she had just a few moments ago, and she struck the torture instrument again in despair.

"Wow," said a voice similar to Lei-Lei's that echoed from the insides of the object. "You really _aren't_ a ninja!" A series of slashing noises were heard as the Iron Maiden fell to pieces, and standing there was a being wearing a mix of red and blue robes with two massive claws and a paper seal on its head. "I told you we'd remember how to do it!" Hsien-Ko then looked down at the bodies of Donovan and Bulleta. "But I'm surprised you took them both!"

"I was lucky, that's all. What do we do with them?"

Hsien-Ko shrugged. "Patch them up. Not like they're a problem to you anymore." She walked down to them, pulling what appeared to be bandages out of her sleeves and covered up the injuries. But then… "Wait a second…they were wearing those weird 'Gift of Chaos' bracers you talked about, right?" The talisman popped off her head and then Lin-Lin was standing there in a strange magician's outfit.

"Yeah… and the power around them is gone too," she said before helping Miki carry in Donovan. "Whatever was protecting them… I don't sense it!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Miki said, "The bracers themselves don't do anything special. It's just a symbol of the Gift, not the Gift itself."

"But don't you feel it?" Lin-Lin asked as she dragged the bodies into the house, worrying that even explaining this to her parents would be a problem. "It almost feels like you… Lei…"

"You mean undead?" the Kyong-Shi asked. "Well… from what you said about Kirin being some sort of Necromancer, maybe it makes sense."

"And I bet that means…" Lin-Lin said as she reached over to each of them and put her hands on each of their heads, "I can fix it!" After her facial expression changed several times between confused and frustration, she removed her hands and grinned. "Well… if there was something wrong with them, it's gone now. It almost felt like whatever controlling them was already gone…"

_Then that means Jedah actually killed Kirin! Well… at least for the moment…_ Miki thought.

A slight murmuring from Donovan knocked them back into reality. Donovan just took one look at Miki and winced. "That was unpleasant…" the Dhampir said as he sat up and clasped one of his arms. He then turned and looked at the Darkinarki. "I assume _you're_ Miki Owikamki?"

The Darkinarki nodded. "Yeah…"

Donovan winced again as he stood up, looking over to Bulleta, being slightly shocked at her severed arms. "Necessary actions, I expect… Whatever the case, it might be smart to actually report on this." He picked up Bulleta before almost falling to the ground. He was not in too good of a shape, and the three girls moved to help him up.

"Maybe I should go with you," Miki said as Donovan looked over at her. Perhaps it was the right thing to do.

* * *

Sierra, Gregorio, Xell, Taurus, and Persimmon were all shocked as Lillith Aensland walked in to meet them in Demitri's castle. It seemed that Kirin's little bid for power didn't seem to pay off for her, and Jedah was dead… again. Morrigan had clearly been incapacitated, and all five of the remaining nobles believed Makai could be theirs once they disposed of their four enemies.

And here came in Lillith… telling them to stay out of her way, focusing on Gregorio that womanizer.

Which was fine by Persimmon de Lepe, as far as he was concerned. The other four could take this god-forsaken demon world… he was after something else.

Like Kirin's world.

* * *

_Much better_, Morrigan thought as she used her newly reclaimed power from Gallon's dreams to undo the damage that Demitri had done her. She kept the scar, however. Ironically, she was starting to take a liking to how it looked on her face. "So how did you sleep?" she asked Jon, in a much better mood than she'd been for the past couple of days.

"Fine," he remarked, trying to just recall what he'd been dreaming about. He knew it had been something where he was human, and Morrigan had popped up to try to get some strength that way, but that was it. "By the way, is this not remembering the dream a side-effect of you using the energy to recover?" It wasn't too serious a problem, but he'd prefer knowing when he'd be having a dream but not remembering it.

"If you must know, then yes. But I'm sure you prefer that over to its _alternative_, no matter what I would do," Morrigan tried to give some shape to her black wings, but she still didn't have that level of power. "I'm going to have to do it a few more times if we have any hope of getting out of here."

"Like you yourself said, it's better than the alternative," Gallon shot back, feeling a decentways better he wouldn't have to sacrifice his dignity to get out of here.

"I'm a succubus, it's part of who I am. I don't shoot insults at you because you used to go crazy every full moon. Shouldn't you at least return the favor?" she said back, getting angry how Talbain was acting.

"But you just proved you don't _need_ rampant sex to survive by simply getting strength from my dreams. Doesn't that mean you don't need to have sex whenever you want it?"

Morrigan gritted her teeth, but at least this argument would pass the time until Demitri popped up again for another session. "Like I said before, it's part of who I am. Don't you _like_ to go crazy some times and rip out the throats of enemies?"

"Well…yeah, sometimes…I just control it."

"Same thing with me. I really don't try to get people's souls on purpose…it just happens sometimes-"

"And yet you do nothing to undo the damage you do inflict."

"Most of the men that die because of me die smiling… most of yours die screaming. I'm sure they'll take me over you most days of the week," Morrigan finished as she shut her eyes. "Now if you excuse me, I'd really like to _actually_ sleep. Being in your dreams is not something I do without effort."

Gallon shook his head, amazed at just how screwed up this situation was. At least they could hopefully get out of this stupid prison in a few days if Morrigan kept picking his head for dreams. And it _was_ better than the alternative.

A/N: Next chapter, Morrigan and Jon finally break out! But can they keep Demitri and Lillith off their butts? Will Donovan and Bulleta be able to make recoveries? And will Miki be able to see just how much she's improved in a Darkhunter training room? Find out next chapter: B+ Student.


	9. B Plus Student

A/N: I don't own Darkstalkers.

Several children were playing outside the orphanage when a limousine pulled up. From it stepped a pale colored man with black hair who immediately walked to the driver and told him to park down the street. After that, he walked to the orphanage, noticing how the children all seemed cheerful.

After knocking on the door, the man waited until what appeared to be a nun stepped out.

"Oh, I'm sorry for being late," the woman said as she called the children in for dinner. "As you can see I sometimes have my hands full."

"That's quite understandable…Miss…" the man started, as if he didn't know her name. This was false, however; he had picked this specific orphanage just because of the woman in charge.

"Felicia is fine," the woman said as she brushed a strand of blue hair away from her face. "But I don't even know your name… or why you're here. Please come in, I wouldn't be a good host without offering food during dinner-time and there's always room for one more here."

"Which is the reason I've come, Miss Felicia," the man said as he followed her into the orphanage and found a seat with her as the children scampered around to their seats and began eating. He took the opportunity to note several other cat-women were there as well. Some as assistants to Felicia, some simply staying there because the "Felicity House", as it was called, was a place for them to go until they could get used to life. "I see you have some unusual girls here."

Felicia smiled as she sat down with the man. "It's really the only place for cat-girls to go and grow accustomed to their abilities. And it also helps build lessons of understanding and acceptance for both the humans and the cats. Now, as you were saying before about why you came here?"

The man laughed as he caught his place. "Ah, yes! As I was saying before, the Felicity House is well known for oftentimes taking care of children that are…" he paused, searching for the words that would not be considered an insult.

"Just say it," Felicia interrupted as she smiled, "Not 'normal', as many people say."

"Miss Felicia, that implies there is something wrong with the cat-girls here. That's simply not true," the man returned Felicia's smile, careful not to reveal more than a normal smile. "But the girl I am planning on bringing here… she is far from normal. After all, she doesn't even know about this, but I assure you, it's for her own good and she has so far not been hostile."

Felicia looked at the man, wondering just what was going on. "What is this girl's name? And what is she? A cat-girl?"

The man looked at her for a moment before answering. "Her name is Miki Owikamki. And she is _not_ a cat-girl. In fact, she's-"

* * *

"-Not a Darkstalker… but she's definitely not human!" said a scientist as she looked again over Miki's records. She and Donovan were watching over a taping of a virtual combat situation that the Darkinarki had gone through not long ago. "From what she said before…when she came from that Alcemia place, she wasn't as good as most of the actual Darkstalkers, but she's gaining ground fast. Watch this." The scientist pointed to a rather impressive showing of skill on Miki's part as she fought twenty virtual "B"-Class demons.

The first five charged at her, but Miki simply stood there, her arm blades deployed. Before the first one reached her, Miki had already ducked down, slipped by its right side, stabbed into its side with her left wrist-blades, and slit its neck with the blade on her right elbow. Before it fell, Miki ducked under it, stabbing _through_ its body and into the next demon that was there.

Donovan was amazed at how precise each attack was. She really _was_ an assassin. Against something that couldn't match her, Miki would just kill it in a single attack. She didn't even bother wounding something if she knew she could take it out instantly. Of course, now that he knew her abilities and her limits, Donovan felt she wouldn't be too much of a problem. "Where's she now?" he asked as he watched the final four demons lunge at her from different directions. Before he knew it, they fell away, impaled on four massive spikes protruding from a curled-up Owikamki.

"Sleeping," the scientist answered. "After what you did to her earlier when Kirin had you under her control, she needed the sleep. And speaking of which, we combed over that home. No sign of the bracers."

Donovan sighed. Whatever Kirin had wanted here was unknown, and since she was dead now, she had left Demitri and Lillith to their own devices. Not to mention he had to find Anita. "Very well then. I'll check up on her." He left the scientist on her own and walked down, stopping by the hospital wing of the Darkhunter HQ first. Lying there while two prosthetic arms were replacing her severed ones was Bulleta.

"I'll kill her for this," the pre-teen said as she grit her teeth. "I'll never be fast enough on the draw any more. I'll have to retire from demon-killing." She then looked up at the fairly unhurt Donovan. "And you! You got off with nothing save a few scars!"

Donovan turned away from the girl, more in disgust than anything else. "You should be thanking Miki now. How'd you like to spend the rest of your life just being some pawn to a succubus and a vampire?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Bulleta shot at Donovan as he walked away. "She ruined me, twice! I should've killed her when she first fell into Makai! And you! You're practically thanking her!"

"Which is what you should be doing, Bulleta," Donovan said as he walked away. "Once again, I owe my humanity and soul to a girl with a pure soul… although this time it was a soul of darkness. Whatever the case…" He walked away as Bulleta shouted a number of insults which he didn't bother responding to.

After checking which room Miki was sleeping in, the priest checked up on her. As soon as he opened the door he saw her arm shoot up from the bed, showing that she was there.

"Yeah…?" the Darkinarki asked, finally trying to get some sleep after being interrogated by countless Darkhunters and convincing them she wasn't going to cause any problems for them. It had taken long enough to explain exactly what a Darkinarki was and why she had came to Earth and Makai… and that was _before_ they had her go through some virtual fights to see just how good she was.

"I just came in to check on you," Donovan said as he tossed a few sets of clothing on the ground in the room. "I figured you can't get by with wearing black all the time, so I took the liberty of finding a few things for you."

As Miki turned on the lights and looked down, she noticed the clothes were various colors, but all about her size. "Thanks… and how're the injuries?" She was glad she hadn't killed him, he seemed like a nice enough guy. That red-garbed girl however, well… being an assassin was much easier if you could kill somebody and not worry about how good a person they were.

Donovan chuckled as he pulled up a seat. "It's fine. Bulleta, however, is rather angry you cut off her hands. You should watch out for her. I'm not sure she's going to just forgive you for that. Anyways… I want to thank you for what you did. I know not anybody could do what you did back there."

"It's okay," Miki said ash rubbed her eyes with her right hand's thumb and index finger, "I mean…all you did to me was end up cutting off a decent amount of my hair, but I like this new look. I might use it from time to time. Now please… I have to get up in another three hours and I'd like to at least rest." Donovan quickly apologized and left.

* * *

"Almost got it…" Morrigan muttered as she called upon all her focus to form her wings. After a few dream-sucking sessions, she finally had a reasonable level of power, but nowhere near what she'd had before Lillith had somehow been brought back. Whatever the case, she finally managed to cut Gallon and her bindings and walked to open the door. "On second thought…" the succubus said as she led Gallon over to a wall, "this might be a bit smarter…" One Soul-Fist later, the wall was a gaping hole to the courtyard, although the sound had been heard in several parts of the castle. As Morrigan prepared to fly out, Gallon stood there. "What's the matter? Afraid of heights?" she asked as she flew back in.

Gallon shook his head. "Too obvious." He opened the door and looked around. Three different hallways. _Damn! If it had been just two, at least I'd have had just as good a chance of running into danger as running away!_ He looked at his former prison-mate. "Which way's the barracks and which way's your bedroom?"

Morrigan laughed, the last part obviously humorous to her. "Jon! I didn't know you had it in you! But seriously, shouldn't we wait until _after_ I get my castle back?"

"Not that, succubus!" Gallon growled back, "But if I know Demitri, he's going to take any attractive woman that's _not_ you, even if she is just a part of you! He might want to find you if you break out, however, and I think we'd both prefer not fighting your own soldiers. So which path leads away from Demitri, Lillith, and the Barracks?" He started hearing voices, but he couldn't tell where they were coming from.

Morrigan finally caught on to the werewolf's scheme and flew down the left path. Having over two and a half centuries of life under her belt, she'd long since memorized every path in the castle. When she looked behind her, Gallon had slipped out of the hole in the wall for a moment and howled, obviously a false-herring if there ever was one. Gallon then quickly ran back and followed the Aensland, hoping that the succubus could at least avoid sexual innuendoes until he was out of range.

By the time that Lillith reached the room where Gallon and Morrigan had been held, the two were long gone.

Yet a smile formed on Lillith's lips as let the situation sink in. Let the games begin.

* * *

_Hope this works out…_ thought the vampire as he sat on the roof of an office building not too far from the Felicity House. _I just hope he was right in what he told me._

He looked high up in the air, noticing what seemed to be several yellow specks. He knew better than to think they were simply optical illusions, and the vampire drew a long black knife. Waved the approaching Soul-Bees over before he plunged it into a locked door as the entire locking mechanism and security system faded away, and the vampire entered. _Now let's see just how good Miki is when the stakes are down._

"And this Pyron guy was _that_ strong?" Miki asked in utter amazement at how strong the alien creature had been. "And that Maximoff vampire wiped the floor with him… and Morrigan could wipe the floor with Demitri? Damn! I gotta take it up another notch to stand a chance against Lillith!"

"Don't swear," Lei-Lei said through the telephone. "I can't believe your mom lets you swear like that! Our parents would slaughter us if we said half the stuff you said!"

"It's nothing," Miki said as she double-checked the settings on the so-called "Virtua Chamber". "But anyways… would you say I could take a half-power Pyron?" She had checked with Donovan and the other hunters, and they didn't see anything wrong with fighting against a simulation of one of the greatest threats to Earth, provided Miki would know her limits.

"Pyron at fifty percent sounds a bit too high… even putting into account simulations aren't anywhere as strong as the real deal. Considering you DO have the ability to manipulate energy… maybe quarter power," Lin-Lin said as she snatched the phone away from her sister. "But why do you want to fight this guy so much? It's not like he's around anymore or anything…"

"But that's the point!" Miki said, almost feeling like a kid in a candy store. "There's no way to create new Anti-Pyron moves with my Broken Mirror style _without _this simulation! If I'm gonna get better, I need to fight more than just simulated pansy-ass demons! Come on, haven't you two ever wanted something like this before?" It was a rhetorical question, mainly because Miki hung up the phone before either of girls could answer.

She stepped into the chamber, noting just how beneficial it would be if the Darkinarki Commandos would have one of these. She nodded into the control room, where several scientists were there, overseeing her vitals and also the controls. "Okay! Turn it on!" Before her stood a fiery creature that vaguely looked humanoid. Before the young assassin knew it, Pyron was attacking her with energy blasts.

_Gallon said never to rely on anything_, Miki thought as she dodged each one to the best of her ability without slowing down time, _so might as well see what I can do with-uggh!_ Pyron had used her moment of vulnerability to uppercut her, but Miki had already figured out a counter to that overused attack.

Her entire body curved up with the attack, and as her feet reached Pyron's head level, the Darkinarki slammed her feet into both sides of his head and continued the spin. As she finished, Pyron was smashed into the pavement, headfirst. But the alien life form had already countered, teleporting away and then wheeling into Miki, who tried her best to stay a step ahead, but she failed miserably. _And this is only him at quarter power? No wonder Lillith slaughtered me! _Miki jumped away from her foe, trying to let the Broken Mirror do the dirty work.

As the wheel-like Pyron came at her again, it came to Miki how to counter this. Just as Pyron reached her, Miki slipped to the side and kicked at the very center of the wheel, the axle. As Pyron staggered away, Miki already pressed the offensive with a barrage of punches and kicks. She would've used her blades, but the obsidian would merely dissolve against the plasma being. Instead, she focused on basic attacks that wouldn't injure her too badly.

Unfortunately, a certain young Darkhunter would not let Miki take her position as master fighter, as Bulleta walked into the control room. She looked at the battle for a few moments before motioning over to one of the scientists. "Turn Pyron up to full power," she said.

"But ma'am-"

"Turn it up, dammit!" Bulleta shouted. "Donovan and the rest of the hunters want to see what she can do against something like a full-power Pyron!" _Of course… that's not true,_ Bulleta thought, _but _I _want to see just how far this little "B+"-Student can do against a far stronger enemy. Who knows? Maybe she'll have a little accident._

The next punch that Pyron launched almost knocked Miki out, sending her across the entire area. Something was wrong, but she didn't have time to deal with it because even going all out, Pyron was tiring her very, _very _quickly. There was only one way out… since she was gonna be dead either way.

Miki pulled her fist back, calling upon the unlimited power of a black hole. "Singularity…" she said as her fist reached its farthest point and then shot forward, "FIST!" Her fist smashed into Pyron…

…Who simply reformed himself to avoid the attack before resuming the slaughter.

Completely drained of strength, Miki collapsed to the ground, seeing Pyron above her, ready for the lethal blow. The simulation then ended, and she looked up to see Donovan holding his sword near Bulleta's throat in the control room. That was all she could make out before she blacked out.

* * *

"What you did was selfish and wrong," Donovan snarled as he and several of the other Darkhunters looked at Bulleta, who was being held in a brig.

"I got my revenge, didn't I?" Bulleta asked, not caring that she had kissed away any chance of ever becoming a Darkhunter again. "It's not like I'm going to be a gunner anymore, so I might as well humiliate the girl that's bested me…twice." She looked at Donovan, a less than innocent smile on her face. "So what's her condition?"

"Not good, thanks to you," Donovan answered. "Felicia dropped by a few hours ago to give the girl some R&R, and even though we knew nothing about Miki going to the orphanage, she could use the rest… and time away from people like you."

"And what _are_ people like me, Donovan?" Bulleta asked as the Dhampir walked away. "I'm a person that will defend my dignity, even if it means giving up something that would be lost anyways. So why don't you all just start kissing her ass… but know that I'm not!" These last few words were said only to a closed door.

Donovan sighed as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on when an alarm went off and a Soul-Bee smashed through a wall.

"And what happened to the vampire that was _supposed_ to be here?" Q-Bee asked the vampire that was standing in front of her. She'd never seen him ever before, and that perturbed her.

"He got… hung up…" the vampire answered, trying to find the right answers. "Don't worry…I'll be leading the charge along with you guys. Just be sure to watch out for that Owikamki girl. You'll know it's her because she has long hair." _Nice, easily explained lie,_ the vampire thought.

"And what should I call you, Mr…"

"Raina will do," Raina answered. _I'd hoped for a better name, but that should be of some help_. Q-Bee looked at him for a moment before leading her swarm down to attack the orphanage. As the last Soul-Bee flew by Raina, his knife flashed again and he held it by it's neck.

"And now…" Raina said, "You're going to tell me everything you know about why Demitri and Lillith want to attack both _this_ specific orphanage and one of the Darkhunter headquarters.

"Who…" the bee started, "Who are you?"

Raina grinned. "A vampire that is interested in Miki's progression here." The creature seemed too fearful, and Raina stabbed into it with his blade knife, turning it into what appeared to be shadow. _I just hope I didn't blow my cover too soon_, he thought as he flew down to lend a hand to Miki.

A/N: Next chapter, Miki will find herself caught in the crossfire as Felicia tries to protect her orphanage, and also trying to defend the mysterious Raina.


	10. More Than One King

A/N: I don't own Darkstalkers… or Geiko for that matter.

Raina jumped to the ground and went off sprinting quickly, quickly overtaking many of the Soul-Bees and then flinging himself through a window, not bothering as an alarm went off. At the very least, it should alert anyone here that could fight.

No sooner had Raina gotten to his feet had a blue and white figure behind him lashed out, ripping his suit to shreds, and would no doubt have torn him to shreds as well, save for a suit of black chain-mail under it that turned away the lethal attack. Raina spun around, blocking another strike as he stared at the nun he had conversed with not too long ago.

"Apologies for the cloak and… dagger," Raina said as he rolled to the side to avoid another agile strike from Felicia, quickly thinking of how he'd actually explain who he was, or more importantly, _what_ he was.

"Save it for somebody who cares," Felicia answered back, charging again, rolling up into a ball of condensed ferocity, but not expecting her enemy to take the fit full-on and slide back.

"You know… there are other things trying to attack this place that are actually _hostile_," Raina grunted out as several Soul-Bees blasted into the room. Raina then turned his back to Felicia and buried his black dagger into one of them, negative energy spilling into the room. Several of the Soul-Bees turned and looked at him, only to be taken down by Felicia's various fellow cat-women as they came to the rescue.

Felicia told them to all go and deal with the other soul-eaters before turning to Raina again. "It'd be easy enough to kill cannon fodder to gain loyalty," Felicia stated before again dropping into a fighting stance.

"He's clean," came Miki's voice as she stepped into view, shocking both Felicia -since there was a pile of Soul-Bees behind her- and Raina -since Miki was wearing a green dress and shirt. "Isn't that right… Blaze Aniar?"

* * *

Morrigan Aensland gritted her teeth as she looked around a hallway. It was bad enough they had to stay on the move, but the fact that it was _her_ castle they were stuck in, it was part of _her_ soul that was calling the shots right now, and it wasn't like Jon "I'm Not Even Going to Act Like I Believe the Innocent Succubus Act" Talbain was letting her burn off anything. "All clear down this hallway. And incidentally, what's the plan?" 

The werewolf looked back down the hallway they were standing in, sniffed the air and raised his hand up to keep the Succubus quiet. "Which way leads to the closest window?" he asked, "Preferably close to the ground, enough that I don't need any help from you to land safely."

Morrigan pointed down another hallway and smiled. "What's the matter? Don't want a ride?" How long had it been since Gallon had left himself open to a nice little remark like that? Too long. Morrigan didn't bother suppressing a gentle laugh as she flew down, leaving Gallon to mutter something before he ran after her. Sure, the situation was serious for her, but if she couldn't relax when she could, she was afraid she'd lose the ability… or something like that.

_Aenslands,_ he thought as caught up with her. _Can't live with them… can't leave them to their own devices…_

"Right here," Morrigan said as she carefully opened the portal. "I'd prefer you not break the window. It's bad enough I had to blast a hole in my own castle. I'm having this Miki girl pick up the tab when this is all over…" Morrigan left out the fact that she knew well enough that she could easily pay for a simple repair job. She flew out, waiting to see Gallon have his less-than-graceful fall down two stories.

Except the fact that Gallon was paranoid enough to make only a small jump, letting his claws dig into the wall behind him. Without saying anything, he casually dropped to the ground. "Don't just standing there," he said as he took off again towards the castle's main gate, "come on! And if you're going to fly, be lower than that!"

After Morrigan caught up to her lupine companion, she sneaked a glance around the corner. Only two guards. Was the front door _really_ guarded that sparsely? "And we're breaking back into my Castle… why?"

"Because," Gallon said as he leapt forward, tearing apart both the demons, "They wouldn't be expecting it, would they? Besides, don't you want to get Lillith back in you and rip Demitri apart?"

"Well…yeah…But what's in it for you then?"

Gallon turned at her and shook his head. "Let's just say a bit of Morrigan Aensland is all I can stomach."

* * *

Felicia was just standing dumbfounded as Miki and Blaze exchanged a silent conversation before the fact that the Soul-Bees were still swarming around registered in their heads. Felicia went one way, leaving Miki and the older man to deal with some others. 

"What brings you here?" Miki asked as Blaze ran ahead, kicking down a door and throwing his knife into a Soul-Bee's head, turning it to shadows before calling it back to him. Blaze still hadn't answered when they worked their way into the cafeteria where some children, including cat-women, were trying to hide near a wall.

Blaze started running off towards them before he answered. "Thought I'd drop in and check up on you. Now can you handle Queen? I'm going to have my hands full fending off the rest and herding the kids where they need to go along with Felicia's friends." Aniar didn't wait for an answer, but stood between another group of bees and several cowering children. He followed up by reading his weapon, called the "Subtle Edge" and ignited his own black soul-flame. "What's the matter?" he asked as the bees backed away from him. "Too hot to handle?"

Meanwhile, Owikamki was busy fending off more attackers, letting the Broken Mirror modify and create tactics against the Soul-Bees. As the last one currently attacking her fell, she noticed some were carrying something outside, and Miki quickly ran after them.

"Ah… you're that dark-soul entity that's brought quite the buzz to Makai, or am I mistaken?" asked a voice as Miki looked up into the sky. Standing there was what seemed to be just another Soul-Bee, but she looked unique. The purple hair was also a giveaway, considering purple was usually the color of royalty and Blaze had said there would be a Queen. As the other bees flew away, Miki assumed a combat stance.

"What are you up to?" Miki asked as she formed her "blunt-style". She had found it worked better against these things and she quickly wondered just how good this new Darkstalker was. "What's with all the children?"

Q-Bee laughed as she floated down to the ground. "Let's just say… you have to kill people to bring one back." Before Miki knew what was going on, Q-Bee was on her, stabbing into her gut with her needle. "Of course," Q-Bee said into the writhing child's ear, "I'll keep _you_ for myself. You look absolutely scrumptious."

Miki grunted in pain as she fell to her knees. It felt like her very soul was being attacked, being drained from her body. She struck out at the aggressor, but Q-Bee stepped back as Miki punched forward, then struck her hard across the face. Miki reacted with the strike, flailing up her left leg and snapping off the stinger, but it seemed that even though she broke, her soul was still being drained, although in a slow rate to stretch out the pain.

* * *

Donovan slid back, trying to catch his breath. There was just no end to these stupid bees! Most of the Darkhunters had fallen back, but Donovan needed answers, like where Anita was, and God help him he was going to kill every last one of them or die trying in penance for what Kirin had done to him! 

A round of gunfire took out the next wave, and Donovan turned to see Bulleta standing there, along with the other Darkhunters, each one with an assortment of guns in their hands.

Donovan turned back, Dylek's magic already summoning entities of Ice, Fire, and Electricity to further reinforce the counteroffensive. As Donovan struck down the Soul-Bees again and again, Bulleta was right there beside him, throwing insults and laughing in that psychotic manner, almost it seemed a bit too forced. Maybe those prosthetics were too much for her to deal with unless she actually learned how to use Chi…

But it was soon over, and the survivors dragged themselves from the fighting pit. Bulleta dusted herself off as best as she could before looking down at her damaged robotic arms. _Shit… I'll have to get to the lab and get prosthetics. But I bet Owikamki is getting her clock cleaned…

* * *

_

Bulleta was correct, as Miki struggled to get to her feet again as the Q-Bee continued her soul-based attack. There had to be something she could do… they hadn't attacked Blaze in this manner…but all he'd done was ignite his soul-flame…

_What's the matter? Too hot to handle?_

Was it really _that_ easy?

"I…" Miki growled as she struggled to her feet one more time as a black aura enveloped her, "Won't… lose…" She had seen… done… _learned_ so much here! Her mind drifted to those first few days with Gallon, reshaping the way she fought… that black sky…

The aura transformed into a flame as Q-Bee recoiled in shock. Miki screamed to the heavens, "**SOUL FLAME BLACK**!" as the Soul-Flame ignition knocked Q-Bee back. She shot at the stunned Q-Bee, smashing her fist into the creature's face.

"No…no…no…" Q-Bee said as she went through spasms on the ground. Apparently, she had experienced something like putting your finger in an electric socket and then turning on the power. "No more… please… no darkness…"

"What's the matter?" Miki asked as she lifted the Soul-Bee up by her antennae. "Seeing what an innocent being with a dark soul can do?" She slammed her leg into Q-Bee in a brutal roundhouse kick, causing her to double over. She then slammed Q-Bee's face up with a painful uppercut and followed up with another body blow. "You want food? _I'll jam it down your throat!_" She slammed her feet down to keep Q-Bee still and her next body blow smashed the creature upwards, albeit the stress of the attack ripped her legs clean off. Miki slammed another kick into Q-Bee's body, knocking the creature up into the air, and then shot upwards and mashed her head into the creature's. Q-Bee reeled from the onslaught and the shock of getting bitten by the hand she fed on, and Miki's next maneuver only made things worse.

Miki managed to fly up above Q-Bee, and then fired down, smashing her legs into Q-Bee's shoulders as the assassin grabbed at the wings. The two fired down at the ground at speeds bolstered by Miki's gravitational manipulation. The resulting shock of smashing into the ground caused the Soul-Bee's wings to be ripped clean off, and it finally seemed that Q-Bee had gotten a grip on reality. "Had enough?" Miki asked as she held the creature again by the neck.

Q-Bee was silent, and the fact that her legs and wings were torn off as well was not a lot of help.

But then… Miki felt her legs give out again, and Q-Bee laughed.

"Burned out?" the monster asked as she crawled towards Miki. "A brief struggle but…"

"GET AWAY!" Blaze snarled as he jumped down on the creature, burying the Subtle Edge into her. "Now… turn to the shadows you so desperately serve!" Blaze's sword glowed for a moment as his quarry faded into darkness. He then turned to Miki and smiled. "How're you doing?"

"Achy… but I'll walk it off," Miki grunted as she managed to get to her feet.

"It's not a problem," Blaze said as he rummaged around for a bag that he tossed at Miki. "The problem is Felicia and the rest lost a few kids, but… oh please! Don't tell me I lost it!" Blaze sighed as he dug into his bag and found a small sack. "Here."

Miki took a look in it… there were a few extra mirror shards, another of her black outfits (although it felt a little heavier than usual), and a small black book. Miki opened it up and took a look.

_Day One:_

_My journey into Makai so far has been a constant struggle, but compared to the Demon War back home, it isn't too bad. I trust no one I've met, and rely on only what I've brought with me. The Saber of Ectratin is unknown here, but its power seems just as great as back home, and the Gift of Chaos has kept me sane despite the magical powers of the demons here. I hope I'll find something worthwhile here._

_Balteria Ciercin._

"You mean…" Miki started as if she was holding a legendary artifact, "Balteria…Ciercin…"

"Yes, Miki," Blaze said as he produced a thermos of water and drank. He looked at a few of the children and cat-women who stood dumbfounded before he sighed. "Miki will explain it later. Anyways… Balteria was smart enough to keep a journal, in case any other Alcemian wanted to take a look around. I'm sure it'll come in handy and there's a single page in the back to keep notes on. The book works so that no matter what, you'll always have one more page to put things in just… don't lose it, okay?" Blaze started to walk away when Miki called out to him.

"Wait a second! What the hell are you doing? You're not staying?"

Blaze turned and smiled. "This is still your journey, and I'm glad I was proven wrong in my assumptions when you were born… so far. You still have to finish what you started. For a last bit of advice, head back to Makai. That's were the final scene of this little play will act out." Flare walked into the open air, and vanished, courtesy of an Inter-Spacial Matter Transporter, leaving Miki to stand there, silently cursing the vampire for not helping out more.

Next Chapter: Miki, Donovan, and Hsien-Ko return to Makai to get back the children's souls and stop whatever Demitri and Lillith are planning. But can even the journal of Balteria Ciercin give them the tips and guides to survive against two high-level Darkstalkers and reunite with Morrigan and Gallon? And will Miki even be able to figure out a means of beating the Illusion Fist? Find out next chapter: Back in Makai.


	11. Back in Makai

A/N: I don't own Darkstalkers, and I'm sorry if in the first part of this chapter, it seems like Beliel Aensland is a bit out-of-character.

The audience stood in amazement as two bodies slowly floated back down to the ground. The two combatants had taken to the skies early on to avoid having anybody get hurt from the shockwaves of sheer power, but at last it seemed like the battle was finally over. The first body was that of the strongest demon in Makai, the two hundred-meter tall, blue-skinned, four-armed head of the Aensland family, Beliel Aensland.

The other body was that of a man, about thirty-five or possibly a year or two older. No one that had saw the battle begin expected the man to last for more than ten seconds… but this man wearing a suit of black mail with a white cross painted on the chest had matched Beliel move-for-move and even succeeded in matching the great demon's nigh-godly physical strength. His short brown hair was wet from sweat as both he and Beliel caught their breaths. The man sheathed his katana and looked at his adversary.

"Beliel, I understand you have a reputation to maintain," he started as he sat down on the ground, obviously not wanting to fight anymore, "But honestly. We could keep fighting for an eternity. I can't beat you, and you can't beat me. Plain and simple. And it's not like I'm any ordinary human… I don't think you're going to see somebody like me for a _long_ time."

The demon looked at the man. True, Aensland was embarrassed that there was somebody that was as strong as he was, and worse yet, was a human, but there were more terrible things in life. Beliel re-sealed two of his arms and extended one of the two remaining to the stranger. He then turned to the crowd. A single glance killed all doubt of his power. Beliel then turned to the man again; who shook the gigantic demon's hand as best he could. "But you… what is your name?"

"Ciercin. Balteria Ciercin," the man said as he soon discovered he was testing his grip against Beliel's. _Best to let him win at least one thing for his crowd._ _Wouldn't want to start a civil war or something._ Balteria quickly muttered mercy, and Beliel let go. "I'm… sort of new here… and I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me spend a few nights at your home." He worried if the demon would plan anything, but between the Saber of Ectratin -or the 'Mage's Sword', as it was supposed to be called- and the Gift of Chaos, he was sure there wouldn't be any problems. Beliel quickly agreed, after all, he had met the only person ever to match his power, and that kind of person deserved some respect.

* * *

"Your power seems remarkable for something so young," Beliel remarked as the demon and Necromancer arrived at Beliel's home. Balteria walked through the doors behind Beliel, keeping his sword sheathed, but in his grasp. He didn't look at the creatures around him… he couldn't afford to.

* * *

"It's…complicated," Balteria said as he carefully worked his way through his meal later that night, cautious to avoid eating anything that remotely looked human. He'd prefer not revealing the fact he called upon both the energies of Order and Chaos to aid him and that he also was careful not to show his white bracer on his left arm, let alone let Beliel catch the quartered cross on it glowing during the fight. The Gift of Chaos was not something that you could easily break through, but best to give Beliel at least part of the answer. "But I've seen a lot of fighting in my life, and I'm proud to say I've usually fought for what's right."The two talked for a bit longer, until the Necromancer realized he could use some sleep. He thanked Beliel for his hospitality and was lead to a room. 

"One last thing," Beliel said as Balteria prepared to head up, "Watch out for my adoptive daughter, Morrigan."

"No need to worry about your daughter's well-being, sir. I'm happily married back home."

"No," Beliel said has he chuckled at Balteria's naivete, "I'm worried about _your_ well-being."

"That bad?"

"You wouldn't know," Beliel said as he let out a sigh of frustration. "She's a succubus, first of all, and she's far older than you… and all she does is gallivant around Earth, getting-"

"I get the idea, Beliel," Balteria said as he started heading up to his temporary bedroom. "Don't worry. I've got a few tricks still up my sleeve."

* * *

"Wow," Miki said as she finished reading the first few pages of Ciercin's journal. "Quite the captivating re-" But she was cut off, considering she had walked right into a tree. _Lesson to be learned,_ she thought as the nine-year old flipped to the open page in the back to write something down, _don't assume trees in Makai can't move._

"You okay?" Donovan asked as he turned around, noticing that the Darkinarki had fallen behind Hsien-Ko and him. Bulleta, in her condition, wasn't allowed to come and Felicia had an orphanage (or what was left of it) to keep track of. Donovan, however, refused to stand back and let his most recent fall from grace to be undone.

Lei-Lei and Lin-Lin had lied to their parents and said they were just spending a few nights out camping like they had a number of times before. No questions had been asked at all.

"Yeah…" Miki answered as she rubbed her nose. "Just learning not to read while walking. It's just… Balteria was incredible…"

"Of course he was," Donovan answered as he led the two (technically three) girls to a clearing near the Aensland castle. "But have you learned anything new about him… or the castle?"

Miki flipped through several more pages, looking for anything that would let them know how to get into the fortress undetected. "Not that I can see…"

"But there's gotta be something!" Hsien-Ko said as she looked over the Darkinarki's shoulder, trying to see if Miki was missing anything. "And besides… why don't we just break in and mow down whoever's in our path?"

Donovan and Miki looked at the Kyong-shi as if that was the last resort. "I don't want to be fighting an entire barracks unless I have to," Donovan said, "and if they know we're there, who knows what they'll do to the kids… or Anita for that matter…"

The young Owikamki suddenly acted like she caught something of interest in the book, and looked around for a place to sit down. Whatever Lillith was planning, she didn't have enough to figure it out. There were still a few pieces missing. The young assassin grunted in frustration, shut the journal, and started walking again when a thought occurred to her.

"Donovan, how'd Anita help you regain your humanity?"

The half-vampire quickly recalled the incident. "She stood against me no matter what I said or did. To her, then and there, there was no gray area. She kept me from hurting anyone, and even at my darkest moment, I couldn't lay a finger on her. Eventually she broke through, and that's why I'm back to normal today."

"What're you getting at?" Hsien-Ko asked as their companion scribbled something else down in the logbook. "You think that Maximoff and Lillith are planning to do something to Anita? Considering even Jedah was scared of her, it would have to be something big."

"I don't know. But whatever the case," Miki answered as she stood back up, "It's going to keep bugging me until I figure out what. Just wish there were something in this stupid book about the actual castle and how it was made. Then we might know where everything is."

* * *

Gallon, however, had Morrigan Aensland to lead him down the hallways of Castle Aensland, although he wished they'd actually find Demitri and Lillith soon. "How big is the castle anyways? It seems like it was built for a giant…"

"Considering my adoptive father _was_ a giant, then I think it fits the situation quite well," Morrigan answered as she stopped to catch her breath. "Great," she muttered, "That little booster I got from you is starting to wear off." She left it at that. Gallon certainly didn't like her, but he'd help her out considering she wasn't technically evil.

"Well, I'll tell you when I need a nap then," Gallon answered as he ran a distance ahead and listened for anything out of the ordinary. "So far so good." One major benefit of finally reaching peace with his wolf side was the fact the heightened senses carried over but the murderous intent didn't. "Looks like you can rest here-" but he was cut short as several red tentacles wrapped him up from the backside. He didn't bother struggling, that would've been expected.

"Well well well…" said Lillith as she turned Gallon around, and the werewolf quickly noted that only the offshoot of Morrigan was standing there, although she'd also wrapped up Morrigan. "Look who I've caught… again!"

Morrigan kept her mouth shut, despite what she wanted to yell at her "sister". This wasn't Lillith. The Lillith she'd known was a more innocent and curious person, not some sadistic being that toyed with her prey. Okay… more like an innocent and curious person that liked sex… but not the abusive style.

"What's the matter, Morrigan?" Lillith asked as she held the Aensland up to look at her by the chin. "Surprised that even with Kirin dead, I'm still acting for her benefit?"

"Kirin's dead?" Gallon asked, surprised that even though the woman had been killed, her effect on this place seemed just as strong. "Then why are you…"

"Still acting the same way? Jon, my dear werewolf, you honestly think Kirin didn't take her death into account? I guess you could say I'm not Kirin, but I want the same thing she wants."

"And where does Demitri fit into all of this?" This time it was Morrigan, who wanted to know the vampire's connection to Kirin and the whole mess. As much as the Aensland had tried to figure out what Demitri was to gain from this except finally shutting her up, that was the only thing Demitri would gain from all of this.

"Oh, Demitri?" Lillith said in an innocent voice not unlike her normal one as she looked Morrigan right in the eye, "He's just another cog in the machine."

* * *

Unable to go any farther that night without rest, Donovan, Hsien-Ko, and Miki set up camp not far from the castle, but under the cover of the forest.

"What was with that vampire that helped you out at the orphanage?" asked Donovan, wondering why a vampire would prefer drinking water, among other things.

"Didn't you say they originally came from Makai in the first place?" Lei-Lei was also bothered by this fact. "Does it have something to do with that weird dagger he has?"

"Blaze and the other vampires on Alcemia's condition has _everything_ to do with the Subtle Edge," Miki explained to the two, deciding to keep it short as possible. She could easily talk for awhile about the history of the Subtle Edge and the other Blades of Might, but that really wasn't necessary. "It's actually funny… but the first vampires were brought from Makai _by_ Kirin. But Blaze's ancestor, a vampire named Bern -yeah, there's a motif of fire-related names in the family- actually changed sides and helped Balteria. They also ended up finding the Subtle Edge and _that's_ when the change started to happen. Essentially, the Subtle Edge has the power to allow the user to turn almost anything the user stabs it into from matter to shadows. That includes their own DNA."

"You mean they just turned the vampire part of their blood into shadows and destroyed it?" Hsien-Ko asked. "Doesn't that mean they're technically not vampires?"

"And if they got rid of the curse, why did Blaze still have fangs?" Donovan was also intrigued by this so-called Subtle Edge.

"Here's where we hit the complicated part," the Darkinarki muttered. "The Subtle Edge's power isn't omnipotent. It costs you strength to turn something into shadow. The stronger it is, the more Gen or Chi it takes up to make into shadows. And if you try to change something that's stronger than you spiritually, or just too big, then you can't change it at all. Since the curse is infused so closely into each vampire, it'd be almost impossible to get rid of all of it. You _can_ however, get rid of the worst part of it, meaning vampires in Aniar can function in sunlight, like the taste of blood but definitely don't need it, and the best part is an Aniar vampire could bit you in the neck for your entire life, and he'd never give you the curse… or even break your skin. The fangs are pretty much only there for decoration."

"Pretty nice trade-off," Hsien-Ko mused as she realized what that would mean if the Subtle Edge was brought to Makai. "So why didn't Blaze stick around? He could've been some help."

"That's the price you pay for not even supposed to be here," Miki said as she looked around and got ready to go to sleep. "He was there for some reason or another and then just copped out. I don't know, I've never liked him. But save for people like me, Aniar is the only other group for protectors for Chaos since…" she broke off for a moment, obviously on sensitive ground, "Since the Necromancers made a terrible mistake, and they spent a century being under the boot of the Clerics until Balteria saved them. After the Cursed Necromancers died in the plague, the Necromancers made a vow that they'd never allow something that could possibly bring about Chaos's downfall. But now… the Necromancers are too weak… even Balteria's grandson Enteria is no fighter… and that's when a group of mysterious people came to Ectratin…and in return for calling that city home, they became protectors and warriors…"

Hsien-Ko and Donovan finally realized what Miki was getting at. "You mean… those people were the Darkinarki? And that's why?" asked Donovan, as the fact dawned on him that for beings of Chaos, the Necromancers seemed to not be hostile or have planet-dominating plans.

Miki nodded. "When I get back, my duties will be two-fold. I'll have to protect those of Chaos from both their enemies and themselves…"

"Is it really that serious to you?" Hsien-Ko asked as she silently told Donovan she'd take the first watch. "I mean, it's not like that's a problem, is it?" She hoped she hadn't said anything to hurt Miki's feelings, and luckily, she hadn't.

"No," Miki said as she flipped open the logbook again for some last-minute reading, "But it's just that the Darkinarki that are in Ectratin are the only ones I know. I've heard stories about others, but I've never met them. It's also the fact that the Commandos aren't exactly known for slippery-smooth operations. That's why their ranks are almost always so thin."

"I think that's enough for tonight," Donovan said as he sat down to meditate before sleeping as well. "Miki, I'll take second watch tonight. I need to clear my head, anyways."

With that, Miki continued reading of Ciercin's journey through the same land she was in now.

* * *

_Wonderfully secure,_ Balteria thought as he looked around his room. Thirteen different sets of windows and the door too. Whether Beliel had given him this room on purpose, or there was something else going on, the Cursed Necromancer didn't know. Whatever the case, he slipped out of his chain mail and put on a red tunic meant for sleeping, once again making sure to keep his white Gift of Chaos bracer hidden under the sleeve. To at least safeguard the door, Balteria took out his katana and slid it through the door and checked to make sure it had stabbed into the stone wall as well. Try as even Beliel himself might, the Saber of Ectratin would not yield to any save its user, so Ciercin knew that the windows would be where Morrigan would come from, if she would at all.

Although there was a large bed for him, Balteria preferred sleeping on the floor, one of the last habits he still had from his days as a Cleric. Well, that and putting crosses on his suits of armor. _A symbol of what I'm fighting for,_ he mused as he set out seven candles around him and meditated. Slowly, each candle flame turned from red to blue and Balteria then began writing in his journal. The candles were there not for anything magical, but they did serve a purpose. After completing his entry for the day, Ciercin lay back and went into a weak, but comfortable sleep.

At about one o'clock, Balteria heard something out of the ordinary. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes and looked which way the candles were flickering. _Somebody's here,_ he thought as the Necromancer maintained his mock sleep.

_He's up to something,_ thought the intruder as she slowly allowed her wings to meld into two tentacles that slowly inched towards him. _But whatever it is, I'm not Father, and I'm getting him when he's off guard._

"Predictable," Balteria said in a casual manner as several bone-like spears appeared and fell from the sky, stabbing and holding down his intruder's tentacles. He stood up, letting a protective barrier of spears appear around him as he picked up a candle and looked at his newest adversary. "I assume you must be Beliel's daughter, Morrigan? Don't embarrass me by thinking I'm just somebody that doesn't have counter-measures. There _were_ demons where I came from… but not anymore."

Morrigan looked at the man, wondering how such a normal looking person could match her father in combat. "I'm sorry… but the door was blocked by a sword-"

"I put that there for that reason," Balteria explained, not in an angry tone, but with enough force to know he would've preferred to just be left alone.

"Of course you did," Morrigan grunted as she tried to pull her tendrils off the spikes, but to no avail. "But would you mind? I figure you don't want me here all night… so if you'll just let me go…"

Balteria rolled his eyes at the feinted desire to leave but let the spines disappear. "Now get out of my room and don't bother me again. I may have been a Cleric for a while, but I never made a vow of chivalry, or celibacy, for that matter, so don't ask like I'm 'forbidden fruit' and you can't help yourself." He waited until the Aensland heir flew out a window before putting his candles out and once again going to sleep. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice, but there was no reason to not continue humiliating her. She was asking for it, anyways.

The succubus's next attempt would be much subtler, probably focused on his mind, and Ciercin preferred getting some quality sleep before that would happen. She'd wait, maybe three hours before her next attack in an attempt to make him vulnerable. Of course, Morrigan didn't know who Balteria was and what his name was synonymous with back home (Godly, focused, strongest being in Alcemian history), so she thought her usual techniques would work just as well on him. Ah, the hilarity of a moronic seductress.

Morrigan's next attempt was indeed another in her usual bag of tricks. She stayed outside his room, she had promised him that much, and focused on his mind, trying to worm her way in. Morrigan found the Necromancer's mind -and resistance, for that matter- to be weaker than she'd encountered before. Even normal people seemed to have at least some mental fighting against her, even though it never was enough. She felt her wrap around his thoughts, the memories of a brown-haired woman and girl, obviously his wife and daughter. They'd be easy enough to sweep away…

But before she knew it, Morrigan was outside Balteria's thoughts again. She tried again and again, each time encountering no resistance, but as easily as she slipped in, she fell out of his thoughts even easier.

Before Morrigan knew it, Balteria was standing there, leaning against an open window. "Hi there. Now leave." Another javelin appeared in his hands as he looked at Morrigan's wings. "I'm sure you'll dodge maybe the first fifty, but the rest will shoot you down like a duck in a hailstorm. Clear?"

Morrigan sighed, turned around, and flung up her arms in frustration. "_Your loss_," Morrigan sighed before flying away.

The rest of the night went easier, and Balteria was interested in this strange world, well… _worlds…_ since he had sent Senin to Earth not too long ago and he had discovered that Aniar's demon world and the world Senin had gone too were linked. Of course she was on Earth in the future, not present…

But would she be all right? Would the Syken find herself in a world filled with people like Morrigan? Granted… the Excel Drive would serve a purpose in protecting her, but…

He couldn't chance it.

_Spirits of Makai_, he thought_, Come to me! _Negative energy flowed from his hands as Balteria Ciercin called upon the full repertoire of Necromancy, requesting the souls not bound by mortal concept of "time" to foresee what he couldn't.

So many conflicts. A brown haired young boy battling the murderous intent of his heart… a fiery being not unlike an Elementa that would be slain by a Vampire here… A creature that could revive itself like Kirin claimed she could… a red-clothed man wielding some sort of "Psycho Power"… a strange man controlling the powers of ice and fire…

There were others, too. And strange race of creatures on Alcemia he had never seen before, split by a schism only twenty years before Senin would arrive on Earth, and the girl among them that would see three great conflicts, but not resolve any of them.

And then Senin's son… the last of a weakling race… thrown into situation he knew nothing about.

* * *

Miki was shaken out of her shock as Donovan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Get some sleep," the Damphir said. "You looked shocked for some reason or another."

"Thanks," Miki answered back, "It's just that… I was just reading things and… well… see for yourself."

She tossed the book over to Donovan and the monk flipped it open to the highlighted page before reading the excerpt. "That would be that 'Ryu' character I've heard of once or twice… that fire creature must be Pyron… referencing something like Kirin, probably Jedah… and the other two I don't know about. It's possible that "Psycho Power" man could be that Shadoloo syndicate's leader. But the last one… I don't know."

"Well?"

Donovan looked at Miki once before chuckling once silently. "And you're afraid you won't be here to save the day, correct?"

"To be fair, I've done quite a bit here."

"You're not looking at the realistically. There will always be someone, or something, to pick up the slack in most situations. The Pyron incident, for instance. Demitri killed the creature because he found him first, not because Morrigan couldn't beat him, and not because I couldn't beat him. As for Jedah, a few of us had to combine our efforts, but we still beat him."

"So?"

"So you're worried that you won't be the big heroine and save the day here, correct? What does it matter? It says you'll still be around, if this girl is you, and if not, you're not bound by this fate, which means you could defeat Lillith or Demitri."

"I'm sure." Miki let out a long breath before standing up. "I need to clear my head. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Stay out of trouble," Donovan said while smiling.

Miki walked down the closest and took a look. A few kappas were sleeping on the other side. Didn't matter, stealth wasn't a matter to her.

Miki picked up five stones and threw them across the stream as she had done before, black soul ignited in all its glory as she practically walked across the stones.

_Huzzah_, Miki thought as she skipped hopping across and just walked across the water's surface, aided by gravity manipulation.

A/N: Next chapter, we see just the condition that Demitri's in, along with how Donovan, Miki, and Hsien-Ko get into Castle Aensland! Will Gallon and Morrigan be able to keep out from under Lillith's yoke of control, and what role will Anita, the "Light Savior" play in the final battles? Find out next chapter: Two Sides, Same Coin.


	12. Two Sides, Same Coin

A/N: Disclaimer… you know the drill.

After flipping through Balteria's journal one more time, Miki realized something about the Necromancer… He sometimes would forget the most important of details. Like explaining if there were any safety measures on Beliel Aensland's front gate.

Bummer.

"Nothing," Miki muttered as she shut the journal.

Donovan sighed. There was no real other choice. Unsheathing Dylek, Donovan walked out in the open. Although his defeat against Kirin had shaken him to a degree, no number of low-class Darkstalkers was a threat to him, and Miki was wide-eyed as Donovan swung the heavy sword without difficulty.

"I think the front door is unlocked," Donovan said. Miki looked over to Hsien-Ko, who just shrugged.

* * *

When Talbain woke up, he quickly took in his new surroundings, which he breathed a sigh of relief to. Being in a dungeon without any guards wasn't too bad, although probably breaking out would cause too much noise. It was then that Gallon noticed Anita was still curled up in the fetal position in a cell next to his. "Good to know I have a much better roommate this time around," he remarked as he sat down. "So… any idea what exactly is going on here?"

The young girl stood up, and looked at Gallon before answering. "Hello, Gallon." she said, recognizing the werewolf from the conflicts against Pyron and Jedah.

Gallon nodded. "And if I recall my mumbo jumbo prophecies, then you're supposed to be the antithesis to the Vampire Savior, right? So, why are you down here?"

Anita sighed before sitting down, exuding an aura of maturity that belied her young age… not unlike Miki. "Lillith…or whatever Lillith is being replaced with, is planning something. But at least Kirin's already fated to die."

"Wait a second!" Anita's last statement surprised Gallon twice in one sentence, not an easy feat. "Kirin's going to come back… but die then anyways? And even if she does die again, what's going to stop her from coming back again?"

Anita nodded as she sat down, finally having somebody that would understand the severity of the situation. "Yes. Kirin Enslade _will_ reveal herself on Alcemia in another nine years. But she'll be defeated… actually by a few of Miki's associates. Sorry, I meant people that will be her associates."

"And how do you know this?"

Anita looked up at the ceiling and smiled. "There's a young girl on Alcemia now, a year younger than Owikamki, who will end up getting killed. Now, there seems to be that there were Alchemists on Alcemia at one time, I can assume that from the name."

"They made those mirror shards originally," Gallon pointed out.

"Correct. But they also made something more powerful than everything in Makai combined. A single stone that could control the life of every creature in existence, and end it -or restore it- in an instant. Now it was destroyed, or more precisely, absorbed by four elemental beings a long time ago. But through a sequence of events that this… 'Blade Longfellow'… had no time to explain, she somehow managed to take those Elementals' powers, and eventually reform the stone."

"And that takes down Kirin?"

Anita nodded. "And the others that helped her out were two young college students that found themselves on Alcemia, in a situation neither of them barely understood, even though one of them… well… it's complicated."

"Do I need to really know it?" Anita shook her head. "Then leave it be. It's good to know about Kirin, though…" Gallon sighed.

* * *

"Go ahead, Demitri," Lillith said to the prone form of the Vampire on the ground as Demitri crawled away from the succubus who was dangling a bracer from her fingers.

"_Woman… end this charade!"_ Demitri growled as he struggled to get to his feet. That was ended when a single edged tentacle shot through Demitri's head and then exploded outward.

"Very well then, Demitri," Lillith sighed as she walked over to him and slid the bracer on his wrist. She then turned away into a patch of shadows that blocked the bed. "So what do you think?"

The shadows parted, revealing the green-haired Succubus standing there. "Rather demented way of killing him…" Morrigan said, a hint of shock in her voice, "I must admit, it's rather out-of-character, but requiring a level of cunning I didn't expect of you."

"Please, Morrigan," Lillith said as she walked up to her other half, "It's not like I hold anything against you. After all, I'm just a piece of you, right? And besides, I thought you preferred just living a life without responsibilities."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'd forsake actually having control in my own home. I'm sure you understand that. And besides… what's with the kids?"

Lillith smiled. "I might not be any Reincarnator, but it's nothing that a few lives can't compensate for. And if they're willing… so much the better!"

This was something that Morrigan was shocked by. Even succubi had standards and do's and don'ts. Children were one of those off-limits things. Teenagers were iffy and you could bend the rules with in certain situations… but little kids were simply not right. One could connect it to being a… lumberjack or fisherman. You made sure there were replacements in the flocks, otherwise you might just over-binge yourself "Lillith," Morrigan finally announced, "You truly _are_ a monster."

"I do try."

"It seems like you've figured everything out… except what happens when the Owikamki girl challenges you again. From what Talbain said about her, she's this century's Balteria Ciercin," Morrigan smiled, hoping to find some weak point in Lillith's façade. If she could just get into physical contact, she might be able to absorb Lillith again… but that damned Gift of Chaos protected her from all but Morrigan's most powerful spells. So she just had to wait.

"Oh, her? She's not that good yet. I'm not worried about her at all. In fact… I took a page out of Kirin's book on dealing with her. You'll see why soon."

* * *

"And… go!" Miki announced as she hacked down another two demon guards. She charged at the last one standing, blasting behind it as every key artery in its body began spewing out blood at an inhuman rate.

Meanwhile, Donovan was throwing a small, beady-eyed demon around like a rag doll, smashing him into walls and doors. "I won't ask again," Donovan growled, "_Now where are they?_"

Without a second thought, the demon pointed down a hallway, and a moment later, Donovan decapitated him and ran down the path, Hsien-Ko and Miki already in pursuit. After running a gauntlet of stairways, the three finally reached the dungeon levels.

"About time you got here," came a voice as Gallon came into view, the prison bars cut to ribbons, "I was worried I'd have to fight through this place on my own."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Miki answered back. She immediately noticed a small girl off to one side. "And who's that?"

"My name is Anita. So…" Anita said as she looked at the Darkinarki. "You're Owikamki."

"And you're the little girl that scared Kirin," Miki answered back, showing a decent level of respect. She wasn't sure exactly what Anita could do, but considering she was about Miki's age and already known for magical powers… best not to piss anybody like that off.

"It's good to see you again Anita," Donovan

"Yes," she said. "And I see that Miki broke you out of Kirin's control. The bracer?"

"What do you mean, bracer?" Gallon asked as Miki handed him a pair of mirror shards for healing.

"I'll explain it later," Miki said as she ran down the hallway and slipped around the corner for the time needed to change into the outfit Blaze had given her. _Damn. After this is all over, I'm taking a nice long shower. If it weren't for all those slips into the river, I'd leave a scent that Gallon could track from here back to Ectratin_.

As Miki walked back, Donovan and Lei-Lei were already catching Jon up to speed, with Anita also trying to figure out what was going on. "Here," Miki said as she handed the logbook to the girl. "You might be able to piece something else together."

"Thank you," Anita said as Donovan lead the group back up the stairs. "I didn't except somebody with a dark soul to be so… for lack of a better word, good."

"I owe the Necromancers of Alcemia everything. I won't tarnish their name by giving over-zealous bastards an excuse to kill them off."

"Interesting point of view," Anita answered.

Gallon quickly noticed something different about Miki and brought it up. "

Miki shrugged. "Amazing what the desire to kill some soul-sucking bee can do."

"Whatever the case," Anita said as she flipped through the last few pages that Miki had added to Ciercin's journal. "I think the Necromancers you so desperately protect might have their work cut out of them."

"How so?" Miki asked.

"There are ten children up there. They are young and controllable," Anita explained, "They would be willing sacrifices. Alcemian rituals require those, correct?"

Miki nodded.

"Then… some sort of revival magic…" Donovan stated. It wasn't a question. He just turned and ran up the stairs, everyone else running after him.

* * *

_This ends here!_ Donovan thought as he ran up the staircase. Behind him were the others… as well as the remains of every single demon that had raised a claw against him. Almost there….

And then it seemed like the entire tower exploded, and much of it literally gave way. Donovan immediately jumped back, smoke filling the chamber as he was suddenly tackled by… something that was going for his neck. Donovan immediately kicked it off and swung Dylek, knocking away the smoke.

Standing there, bloodied and wearing a grey suit and matching bracer, was Demitri Maximoff.

"None shall pass," he said in a dry emotionless voice, right before a surge of steel, obsidian, ice, and claws plowed into him sending him into a wall. Demitri immediately grabbed Gallon, smashed their heads together, and immediately slammed Hsien-Ko and Miki into the wall behind him. A slash from Dylek was barely dodged, and Demitri then appeared behind Donovan moving to sink down on the Darkhunter and remove the humanity that he had (miraculously) recovered.

Except a small bolt of energy sent Demitri spiraling away with force that belied such a small attack, its source: Anita.

Hsien-Ko and Gallon charged again as Miki's eyes strayed upwards. The stairs weren't _too_ damaged up about twenty feet…

"You're going to jump for it, aren't you?" came a voice as Miki spun around and saw Anita looking at her as the three-on-one war raged, neither side holding sway for more than a few seconds.

"Is there a problem with that?" Miki asked.

She hadn't expected Anita to shake her head. "Demitri is just a stalling method. They see it, and they'd go after Lillith if they could. All yours," Anita said while she stepped away. "I'd go too, but I'm no fighter yet."

"If that's the case," Miki said as she charged at the stairs. This would be the test on how well her body could handle the stress of extended gravity manipulation… and it would _hurt_. She knew that.

She leapt up, getting part of the distance without any difficulty, but then came the painful part: surviving the stress of reversing gravity.

And it _did_ hurt.

Demitri's lifeless eyes flitted up at the girl reaching for the stairs and he immediately fired off a Chaos Flare at the target, not expecting the blast to be bounced right back by that Kyong-Shi. Gallon rammed into Demitri full-speed, knocking the vampire off the tower and into the ground below as Miki's middle finger managed to reach the stairs push down, flinging her up as Miki barely managed to stand after the exertion.

Meanwhile, Gallon, Donovan, and Lei-Lei continued their assault on Demitri, slowly gaining the upper hand due to superior numbers and magical power.

"Know what to go for?" Gallon asked as he retracted his claws, slashing them against a tree to check their sharpness.

"Gift of Chaos bracer?" Donovan asked as he readied his sword.

"Worked before didn't it?" continued Hsien-Ko as she stood up, readying her claws.

"Don't exactly understand the details, but it _should work_," Gallon finished as he followed the two's leads. They all charged, hoping that this would be just another easy act of cutting the bracer to return the victim to normal. Despite their foe's great power, Demitri was lacking the style and strength he had when he before, and as the werewolf, Dhampir, and Lei-Lei stood away from him, they knew their attacks had rang true.

The gray fashion piece fell to the ground, and yet Demitri still charged again and attacked.

"Guess killing him is the only solution," Lei-Lei muttered as she struggled to her feet after the most recent round of abouse.

_Easier said than done, _Gallon thought as he growled in frustration. This was not going to be easy.

A/N: The final battles are getting ready to being, but several questions are still abound. Can Donovan, Hsien-Ko, and Jon pull through against a demonic noble? Will Miki be able to have better luck in her rematch against Lillith? And what is the nature of the sacrifice that Lillith is planning? Find out next chapter: Guardian of Chaos.


	13. Guardians of Chaos

A/N: Bah. You know I don't own this.

Anita flipped through the journal as quickly as she could, trying to figure out a way to offer assistance to Gallon, Donovan, and Hsien-Ko as they continued their struggle against the remains of the vampire Maximoff. Even in his soulless state, Demitri proved to be a challenge for even their combined might, and what appeared to be an authentic Gift of Chaos made it even more difficult.

Donovan rolled out of the way and quickly blocked as a pair of razor-sharp bat wings slashed down, and jumped back as Hsien-Ko and Talbain smashed into the vampire's backside, slashing and hacking with all their strength. Hsein finished the barrage with a painful double kick that smashed Demitri into a tree, but Demitri then appeared between them, spiraling up in the air and knocking away both Hsien-Ko and Gallon, although Donovan managed to evade in time.

"No half-breed can slay the pure," Demitri rasped in a voice too… distant than his voice should've been.

"No _puppet_ can slay the pure," Donovan shot back as he charged, swinging Dylek as if it weighed no more than a light book, leaving a massive crater in the ground where Demitri had been just a few seconds earlier.

A barrage of Chaos Flares surged down at him from above, an aerial Demitri firing them at full-speed, pinning Donovan down before another barrage of magical projectiles and a white dragon plowed into him and knocked the controlled Maximoff into the tower's wall.

Yet Demitri suddenly appeared behind Hsien-Ko and then impaled her through her stomach with his left hand, screams echoing in the forest.

Blaze Aniar, now clad in black chain mail with a white cross painted on the chest (not unsimilar to Balteria's suit) furrowed his brow and clutched the Subtle Edge as he took a look at the battle between against the vampire and grinned. _They can't win!_ the pseudo-vampire thought desperately as he slipped out of the trees. _Their strength might exceed his own… but Maximoff is tiring too slow!_ Blaze leapt down onto the forest floor and charged at Demitri. He was going to enjoy this.

A slight grin appeared on Blaze's face. _Good to be fighting in a chain-mail outfit too… that suit was just too… _unprofessional_. Whatever the case,_ he thought as he sprang up to the fight, _the Subtle Edge might just be the thing we need. Not to mention the Aniar family can finally wipe the floor with Maximoff…_

"SHADOW CONVERSION!" came the voice as the black dagger stabbed into Demitri's left hand, the sudden flood of negative energy causing Demitri to recoil but not lose his hand, just in time to be slashed in the face by Gallon's claws and Donovan's sword.

The blood flowed from Demitri's face as he backed up, noticing that the ward on the blue girl's face had vanished, replaced by another girl wearing a yellow magician's outfit helping her stand up. "Bern Aniar…"

"Right family, wrong member," Blaze shot back as he looked over to Donovan and Gallon, both of which looked at the newcomer with untrusting eyes. "Associate of Owikamki… I'm from Alcemia."

The three didn't have time to react, however, as a demonic fireball in the shape of a face shot straight at them, followed by four others. While the others blocked the attacks, Gallon leapt up in the air and shot down like a blue fireball, letting his feral side be completely unrestrained, slashing, biting, and tearing at Demitri, who just took the attacks before countering.

"I've always hated wolves," Demitri growled as his fist practically shattered Gallon's ribcage and knocked the wind out of the lycanthrope. Demitri's hands then grabbed onto Gallon's snout, forcing it open in an attempt to break the creature's jawbone, right before a stream of fire engulfed him, courtesy of Donovan and Dylek.

"Is that just Kirin's influence or what?" Blaze asked to Donovan as the swordsman continued his wave of elemental attacks to give Gallon the time he needed to fall back.

Donovan just glared at the current antagonist as he got up, "No… Demitri has never been one to just lay down and die. Both against Pyron _and_ Jedah…"

"Great." Blaze acted first, tackling Demitri, struggling with the stronger vampire in an attempt to impale him on the Edge, but quickly found himself in the opposite situation, trying to hold back Demitri from biting him.

But then it seemed over… as Donovan swung Dylek with all his might… cleaving Demitri Maximoff in twain.

"Thanks…" Blaze said as he immediately ran off, leaving Donovan still baffled by him.

* * *

Finding the dungeons was hard, sure, but thankfully the master bedroom was much easier to find. Miki simply thought about where a castle's bedrooms would be and started heading upwards, conserving as much of her obsidian as possible along with slipping down less-guarded hallways. And that really wasn't stealth… since she left plenty of dead bodies along the way as a calling card. As she rounded a final turn, she saw those then children that the Soul-Bees had kidnapped blocked her way.

"You're gonna hurt Miss Lillith!" shouted a little girl maybe a year younger than the Darkinarki. "We're not gonna let you!"

"You honestly think I don't know how to deal with Stockholm Syndrome, Aensland?" Miki muttered as she stood there. The kids, naïve enough to think they could stop her, surrounded Miki, effectively meaning that she'd have to fight against the very kids she'd sworn to rescue. "I assure you," she said as she stood without even assuming a stance, "You're being lied to."

"Shut up! Lillith's a nice girl!" they shouted as they swarmed around Owikamki, attacking in a childish manner, hoping to stop the evil, black wearing girl. The first few attacks actually did connect, but Miki spun with the punches, jumped over a tackle, and on her way down, shot out her fists and legs and landed non-lethal attacks to eight of the kids. The one that had tried to tackle her, charging again, got kneed in the gut, and tossed him at the last one.

"Bad girl…" the last one said as she staggered to her feet. "Why're you doing this?" Miki was in front of her, looking into her eyes with those white pupils.

"Because like I said before," Miki explained as she slipped beside her, put a foot behind the girl's legs, and pushed her down, "You're being lied to. If she's such a nice person, why hasn't Felicia ever mentioned her to you?" Miki walked away, heading back up the stairs. _The innocence and trusting nature of youth… such a wonderful but so vulnerable of a condition. Whatever the case… I think it's about time I pass Kalazi's stupid test.

* * *

_

"Ah, you're nemesis has arrived," Morrigan said innocently as the door flew open, causing Lillith to first scowl at her other half and then at the other dark entity in the room. "I hope you'll enjoy your time together. If you don't mind I'll just-" But Morrigan was cut off as Lillith slammed a tendril into Morrigan's face.

Lillith smiled as she looked at the fighter she'd demolished so easily before. "So… you didn't kill the children to get here? Doesn't matter. Provided they die in any way possible… I'll have my sacrifices. I'm sure somebody will drop in to finish the job."

Miki ignored the remark as the she formed her gauntlets and leg guards. "So what're you after? Bringing back your 'Lady Enslade' back to life? I live with Necromancers, I know about those kinds of rituals." She charged, only to be caught off guard as Lillith formed her wings again in the form of tentacles which wrapped around her wrists and ankles.

Lillith snickered as she pulled Miki close, noticing the girl wasn't even bothering trying to struggle. "Pretty smart... about Kirin, that is. Unfortunately, not in fighting. Those will adapt to any amount of flexing or pulling you try to do. I must admit," she said as she looked Miki right in the eye, her violet eyes tainted with shades of white from Kirin's lingering influence, "That in another life, you would've been an incredible succubus."

Miki, however, just smiled back. "Like I haven't heard that 'In another life' speech before. Think up something original." She spat in Lillith's face, watching as Lillith's expression changed from being haughty to enraged. Lillith shot the tentacles back into a wall, but Miki kept smiling. The assassin escaped from the hold by slipping her hands and feet outside of her obsidian accessories and had her blades formed before she touched down on the ground. "Honestly. The Illusion Fist was sheer brilliance," she said, cracking her neck. "I'm still trying to figure out how it worked. I hope it isn't your only original maneuver."

Lillith slowly calmed down, wiping the grime off her face as she transformed her tentacles back into a pair of razor sharp wings. "Funny," the succubus eventually remarked, " I recall, during my time inside Morrigan as her unified soul, memories of a man who also told her to think up some original tactics, but I don't think a little girl should know what the subject matter was about." Before Miki knew it, Lillith was suddenly behind her, trying to grab her again. "So… do _you_ have any new maneuvers to come up with?" She kicked Miki away, this time succeeding in knocking her into a wall.

"Oh, the Broken Mirror is always changing what it shows," Miki said as she wiped a small amount of blood from her mouth. She ran back at her foe, jumping into the air and slashing with her blades, only to once again see as Lillith vanished into thin air.

"But not good enough," Lillith laughed as she whacked Miki away with… her hair. "Isn't it time that _you_ think up something original?"

_Gotta think about that move…_Miki thought as she rolled away, trying to avoid another round of ribbing from her foe. _All right,_ the Darkinarki took the opportunity to slow down time a little more than usual, buying her a few extra seconds, _how can I counter something that manipulate light?_ She quickly ducked Lillith as she fired a heart-shaped fireball that fizzled out after slipping by her. Then the answer hit her, approximately two seconds before Lillith did.

"What's the matter?" Lillith asked as she once again used the Illusion Fist to catch the assassin off guard, "Running out of ideas?"

"Not just yet," Miki said and smiled, letting Lillith's "Shining Blade" uppercut pass right through her. Lillith looked down at Miki as she continued on her flight up, suddenly feeling something smash into her face. As she fell to the ground, she saw what appeared to be Miki walking back, jumping into the air, and slamming her feet at a point.

"How did you…" Lillith started as she stood back up again, chancing a glance in a mirror. Good, it wasn't too bad. Lillith once again readied for battle, this time floating up in the air.

Miki once again got serious, and oddly enough seemed angry at the technique she had just done. "Bending and slowing down light. Personally I don't like it… seems a bit too much like what a ninja would do. So how about a little compromise?"

"In the middle of a fight?"

"Why not?" Miki said as she racked her brain for techniques to use in this situation. She slowly let the spike on the back of her neck form again, hiding it underneath her hair. "Essentially, _neither_ of us use our illusion techniques, and we keep fighting with no other changes. How about it?"

Lillith took the moment to also figure a scheme of her own, one to deal with the flightless adversary. Of course, Miki _had_ somehow escaped from a literal bottomless pit. Best to put flight into her scenario as well. "Very well then. Neither of us. I give you my word on it."

"Jedah said the same thing, and he ended up whacking me when my guard was down," Miki said as she charged, ducking under an brutal wing swipe that would've decapitated her, nicking the wing in the process with the spike on the back of her neck. As she looked back at Lillith, the violet-mained girl was grinning.

"Got you with the other," she said as she kissed her scratched wing. She snapped her fingers, and Miki quickly noticed there were a number of gashes in her black outfit. But underneath the fabric was…

"Chain mail?" Miki said out loud, realizing that must've been what Blaze had intended when he gave her the clothing. _Good thing too._ She chanced a glance back over to where Morrigan had been knocked unconscious. Wherever she was, the woman wasn't there at the moment.

* * *

As the children down the stairs lay unconscious, voices were being heard downstairs. Soon, two green-skinned demons charged into the room, claws ready.

"You ready to finish the job?" asked the first as the second walked in front of him towards the children.

"Sure," said the second, "Didn't Lillith say Kirin could only come back with enough deaths, anyways? Hey…" he turned around, seeing that his buddy was lying face down in a pool of green blood. Before he knew it, a black/grey tentacle shot into his mouth, turning into a sharp "X", and then the four sides split and went their separate ways, shattering the creature's head from the inside out.

"Honestly," Morrigan muttered as she picked up the bodies and pushed them off to a side. "I am going to sue that girl for how much damage she's responsible for here." She looked over to the children, not knowing the danger that had existed just moments ago. "Best to let them sleep," she said as she started walking up the stairs again. She wanted to see how the fight was going.

A loud thud was heard behind her, and the rightful Queen of Makai turned around to see a massive brown sack on the ground in front of her. Standing in the doorway was what looked to be a vampire… but wasn't. "Good to know you finally have some standards. Ciercin was worried about that," the black-armored vampire said. "I'm sure this will be more than enough to fund repairs."

"And I'm assuming you're one of those people from Alcemia, correct?" Morrigan asked as she bent over to pick up the back. The act… and the view caused by it were not lost on Blaze, but Blaze didn't seem interested.

"Looks like I'll have to take a rain-check on those standards," he said. Morrigan looked up at him, smiling, and hoping to see someone looking around at the walls or something, but Blaze kept his red eyes on her. "I'm assuming that you're just waiting around for the fight to wind down?"

"Naturally," Morrigan said as she looked in the bag. Inside were hundreds, possibly thousands of small coins, each made of… "Platinum…" her voice trailed off. Was this bloke really that rich? "Let me guess… buddies with Balteria Ciercin?" she asked, wondering just who could afford to toss away _that_ much platinum.

"Sort of… I'm King Blaze Aniar. I'm sure you recall the name," Blaze said, slowly walking over to the children and picking them all up.

"Aniar," Morrigan said, trying to recall any noble family by that name. "Ah… you mean those vampires that left Makai a while ago. How's life elsewhere?"

Flare smiled, out of formality than anything else. "I've taken a liking to drinking ice water, but my son prefers something a little more mineral based."

"Your son?"

"About Miki's age. His name's Flare. But if you excuse me," he walked by the Aensland, quickly but cautiously, "I do think that Donovan and the others will be here soon. I've no reason to strike against you, after all, I'm not even supposed to be here, but I'm sure the others will think otherwise. I say hand those kids over to them, do whatever you have to in order to stay on their good side, etceteras. Now get the hell out of my sight."

Morrigan sighed and shrugged, then used her tentacles to gather up the various kids before walking the opposite way, stopping only once. "I'm assuming… Demitri Maximoff is dead?"

"Killed by Donovan," Blaze answered.

Morrigan nodded, "Good."

* * *

"I must admit… you're far better this time around," Lillith said as she floated in the air, catching her breath. "Too bad… Chaos is on my side…" She grinned, raising her arm so Miki could get a good look at it.

Miki, a tad more tired than Lillith, dropped to one knee. If it hadn't been for that outfit Blaze had given her, she'd probably been impaled already. "Chaos isn't on your side," she said, suddenly getting more serious than usual, "Everything about you disgusts me… and I won't let someone like you give Chaos a bad name!" Miki called upon her Gen and tried slammed like a rocket into Lillith's gut, smashing the succubus through the roof and into the open. Before things got out of hand, Miki found a suitable landing place and caught her breath again.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Lillith fumed as she regained her composure and landed on the roof not far from the Darkinarki. "Still some fight in you. Too bad I've still got the advantage." She spread her wings wide, only to see that two massive slash marks had been the effects of Miki's most recent attack. Lillith snarled in fury as her eyes turned completely red. "That was something you _shouldn't_ have done, Owikamki." She slammed her leg into the side of Miki's head, knocking the girl back down into the castle's bedroom.

_Wrong idea about that wing-slashing thing_, she thought as she rolled to curb the impact's damage. _Just wish I had something left in reserve or a_… "Mirror shard?" Miki asked as she noticed that someone had conveniently left there. _Damn you Blaze and your half-assed help! _She rolled again as Lillith came smashing down, scooped up the red-tinted piece of glass, stabbed it into herself, and then leapt into the air to avoid Lillith's most recent lunge, smashing both her feet down and letting the powers of gravity do the dirty work of the attack.

Lillith wasted no time in countering, and flicked her legs up to knock Miki off her. "So you've got a little extra kick in you, eh?" She smiled again. "All the more fun."

A/N: As the fight between Miki and Lillith escalates to an even higher level, both quickly find their opponents still have entire bags of tricks left. But when it seems Miki's strength gives out at long last, can Morrigan come to her rescue against her far stronger sister? And after all that, will Miki finally be allowed to obtain her own Gift of Chaos Bracer? Find out in the finale: Paths that will Branch, but Rejoin,


	14. Paths that will Branch, but Rejoin

A/N: Boo-yah! Second fanfic I've completed! I don't own Darkstalkers.

As much as Lillith was smiling on the outside, it was only to hold back the unbelievable rage aimed at her nine-year-old enemy. Miki Owikamki had yet to fall against her, and it was practically humiliation considering how easily the Aensland had defeated her before. The master bedroom was horribly demolished by their attacks, and the two had continued their fighting up on the rooftops.

"I know you're really pissed at me," Miki said, keeping her focused game-face on. "If it makes you feel any better, it's mutual." Her obsidian was long since spent, and there were a number of scrapes on her arms and face.

Lillith chuckled as she once again flew at the Darkinarki at ramjet speed, and succeeded in knocking her off the castle. _Come on, let's see you fly,_ Lillith thought as she looked over the edge. _It's the only way you would've survived our last fight, so I'm ready for it._

Yet Miki opted to not reverse her fall as she shot down to the ground, aided by the same force she had limited control over. In fact, she used her powers to fall even _faster_, and when Miki finally did hit the ground, the impact was roughly the equivalent of a meteor. The resulting shockwaves stirred up a massive cloud of dust, so Lillith couldn't see that Owikamki had springboarded off the ground, shot back up, and landed a brutal haymaker on Lillith's chin. _Just wish I had some fluid left_, Miki thought as she landed near the reeling succubus. _Without it, it's going to be hell trying to cut that bracer off._

Lillith, however, was not thinking like a normal person. _Why, Lady Enslade? _She thought as she tried to regain her composure. _You gave me this power… why isn't it enough? This brat shouldn't be able to stand against the most powerful woman in all of Makai! _Lillith let out a scream of frustration as a number of white bats shot out at her foe. "Brilliant Shower!" Yes, that attack would shut up Miki.

Yet the black-eyed girl held her ground against the attack, black flame encompassing her. "Now you're doing the wave of energy schtick?" Miki said as she calmly sidestepped the first three. "I keep telling you to think up something original! Almost everybody's using that idea!" The next several bent around her body, swung around, and then struck their creator.

"Dammit! You don't understand!" Lillith screamed out as she fell to her knees. "Lady Kirin Enslade is Chaos's only hope, and it's my duty to restore her!" She looked at Miki, hoping to see the child had realized how important bringing back her master was, yet her stern face showed Lillith she was looking for hope in the wrong place. But something different _did _flicker across Miki's eyes, and Lillith's for that matter.

_Desperation…_Miki thought as she lowered her guard a slight amount. _Lillith's probably never felt it in this form… and I saw something in those eyes that was almost like a child. Guess a change of plans is in order_. She wasn't a shoulder to cry on, but now Miki had a goal to work for. Miki charged again, sending a sharp kick to Lillith's side. The succubus bent to the side to evade, and then struck at Miki's head with a drill-like fist. But as she struck, Miki, also felt another attack behind her. _There's _two _of them?_ She thought in shock as the two continued their barrage. But the Broken Mirror quickly saw a hole in their tactic. They simply mimicked each other's attacks, so even though Miki couldn't see the one behind her, she knew exactly what that Lillith would do.

As both Lilliths kicked upwards to knock Miki into the air, their quarry leapt before the attack could connect, and both bodies hit each other's shin. Miki struck down, slamming her fists into both of them.

But Lillith decided to cheat.

Before she knew it, Miki saw her hands pass straight through both of her bodies… Lillith had decided to call upon the Illusion Fist again, and Miki got slammed in the back. Lillith continued her last possible chance at victory with a brutal assault of slashes with no real focus. As long as the stupid girl died, they were good enough.

_Dammit!_ Miki silently screamed as she got the wind knocked out of her. _Should've expected something like that!_ Lillith continued her attacks, but Miki did manage to duck on kick, and she knew it was now or never. She pulled her fist back, calling upon every single ounce of Gen left in her body, not caring about what would happen if she were to miss. The situation called for a gamble, and it looked like this was it. "SINGLURAITY FIST!"

Lillith saw the move coming, and knew what would happen if the attack even brushed up against her, and she quickly swayed to the left, which was what Miki had been hoping for. Sure, her punch missed _most_ of the target, but it did manage to tap against the Lillith's fingernail, and the attack's magic once again flared to life as Lillith's entire left arm -and and the bracer- shattered into what seemed to be an infinite number of pieces. Miki, drained of all but the strength to keep her vital organs pumping, collapsed as Lillith, although in pain, grabbed her by the neck. "You… should've made that move… count!" Lillith growled, but Miki was still smiling.

"Oh, she made it count, Lillith," said a voice behind her as Lillith felt somebody grab and hold her from behind. From the corner of her eyes, the violet-haired succubus saw a lock of green hair, and knew she'd lost. Her bracer, not the symbol from obtaining the true Gift of Chaos, was the source of her non-Chaotic magic protection, which was now gone. "I think you've done enough damage for today, so why don't you just go back to where you belong?"

Lillith screamed as she turned into a form of light and slowly flowed back into her other half, and as she did, Kirin's influence dissolved away. "Morrigan!" she whispered as she finally faded away, "Thank you…"

The Queen of Makai smiled as she realized it was finally over. _Too bad too,_ she thought as she looked down at Miki's unconscious form, _A being that's already with a soul as dark as anyone here's. Not like I can do anything to shape who's she's going to be…too bad too…

* * *

_

"Thanks for coming and saving my butt," Miki said as she bade farewell to Hsien-Ko, Gallon, Donovan, Anita, and -although she'd prefer the succubus wasn't there- Morrigan. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"What're you talking about?" Gallon said in an easy manner, "You pretty much won all your fights on your own, and thanks you, we don't have to worry about Jedah _or_ Demitri any more."

"I have to admit that it is a bit easier now, not having to worry about shaking that stupid Maximoff off my trail all the time now," Morrigan said callously, "And it's utterly amazing that a little girl did it. What is it about you Alcemia people and your massive power boosts?"

"It's something you'd never understand," Miki answered, knowing full well Morrigan definitely wasn't an enemy, but shouldn't be counted on as a friend unless it couldn't be helped. Morrigan sighed, shrugged, and flew off, probably to seduce some poor person on Earth with her full powers once again reclaimed. Miki then turned to the others. "To make it simple for you, big things happen on Alcemia in short amounts of time. But," she was wondering where Blaze was, considering he probably would've wanted to wait for him, "Where's Aniar?"

"You mean the vampire?" asked Anita, "He already left. He told me to give you this, however." She handed Miki a small handheld device, which Miki quickly recognized as a spacial thumper, which would make her pop up on a Matter Transporter's sensors back in Ectratin. Anita smiled and extended her hand, which Miki shook.

"You keep the beings of Light on the right path here, Anita," Miki said as she saluted the group. "It's bad enough what's going on back home, I don't want to worry about things here now that I came here."

"What about your home?" Lei-Lei asked, wondering just what life was like on Alcemia for a non-stereotypical being of darkness. "Bad stuff there?"

"Yeah," Miki said, nodding. "Clerics and the rest getting so self-righteous they might just screw everything up. But don't worry!" she said, once again forming the "V" for victory, "The Darkinarki Commandos will always be there to protect Chaos from both Order and itself! No way in Hell am I going to leave the Necromancers and the vampires to fend for themselves!"

"I'm assuming you're going to say you'll come back some day?" Donovan asked, obviously the most restrained of the five there. "I just hope when you do you'll stay on the path you're going right now."

"Knowing you," Gallon said, chuckling, "You're going to be even more arrogant, even though I'll still be able to beat you."

Miki gritted her teeth in a humorous way before answering. "Don't worry about me changing. I'll probably be…" her voice trailed off as she once again recalled Balteria Ciercin's prophecy that in ten years she'd return as a member of a four-person group, only to be the weakest of the four by a long shot. No. Ten years was a lot of time, especially on Alcemia. "Whatever the case, you've all got ten years before I come back, and I'm gonna see just how much better you all are! Deal?" She put out her hand, and Anita, Gallon, Donovan, and Hsien-Ko all extended their hands as well.

"I look forward to it," said Donovan.

"I'll see just what an Alcemian fighter can do," Anita said, considering she'd never even seen Miki fight.

"I hope you actually will be a challenge," Gallon said before finally getting serious, "But I've seen you grow exponentially from your time here, and who knows what ten years will do?"

"Of course, Lin-Lin and I are going to have a double dose of training to make you worry about," Hsien-Ko said, tapping the paper seal on her head.

"Ten years," Miki said as she smiled and activated the thumper. Roughly five seconds later, she simply vanished. No flash of light, no slow dissolving. In and out, substance over shine, the way of a Darkinarki Commando.

* * *

Miki quickly told Kalazi, Enteria, and Akura the entirety of the story, and they all listened with interest. Of course, Akura was worried about what Miki had gone through, but the fact that her daughter was standing right there allieved the stress of hearing how her daughter almost died a number of time and fighting the some of the most powerful demons that ever existed. Kalazi was the first to speak when the story was finally finished.

"Good to know. You'll be ready for combat duty in three years," he smiled, but in that way that Miki knew he was dead serious.

"And the reason why?" she asked, wondering why she'd gone through more trials over the course of a few weeks than some members of the Commandos went through in their entire careers.

Kalazi shrugged. "Still too young. Have you any idea how crazy Blaze would flip out if he saw you out there, fighting for our sake? I think going for the Gift, however, might not be too much of a problem."

Enteria nodded in agreement. "Last thing Blaze would want is a little girl doing what some of his people couldn't do. For his own dignity, let it slide for just three more years. Not to mention the fact he headed after you without our consent. But concerning the Gift of Chaos… I'm sure Blaze wouldn't have a problem with you getting that."

"Not like I have a problem with Blaze keeping her from going on the combat roster," Akura spoke up to the king's defense, which she thought she'd never do. "I admit him helping you out was not an action that Kalazi and Enteria wanted to be done, but it definitely helped. Whatever the case, I'm just glad your home and we can end this worry about your soul."

Miki almost completely hid her shock when she realized that Blaze had gone over everyone's head for her own well being, but shook out of it and nodded. "If it's alright with everyone here," she started to say, "I think I might want to take the next couple of days off. I think I've earned it."

Kalazi nodded and smiled as Miki walked back to her quarters, but Enteria called out to her. "I think you still have my grandfather's journal," Enteria called out, which stopped Miki in her tracks. She turned around and opened up her pack, handing the age-old book back to the last of the Ciercins. The Necromancer flipped through it several times, making sure there was no significant damage caused by Miki, smiled to let her know she could go, and took an extended look at the information she had filled out. "Impressive design, although those doodles don't become that of an assassin."

"Let her have her childish moments," Akura said, once again to someone's defense, "I think she has her right to kick back and be a child when she needs to."

* * *

Blaze Aniar whistled as he walked down the hallways of the Darkinarki Commando sleeping quarters. He stopped by the "Owikamki" dormitory for a moment before moving on. From the inside, he heard the sound of someone sleeping while listening to a strange music.

"She's been listening to that style since she got back. I guess it's something she picked up on Makai," said a voice as Blaze turned around, seeing Akura standing there, smiling. "So why'd you do it?"

"Right thing to do, right? Everybody else had faith that Miki would turn out straight, I thought it was about time I put some trust in her too. And besides, I thought you'd be out on a mission by now," Blaze said as he looked around for a bench to sit on as Akura found a seat for herself. "Considering Miki's fine now and everything." He located a water cooler and poured himself out a cup of freezing water, enjoying its taste. Not as good as blood, but an excellent replacement.

Akura shrugged. "Just doing some background investigation." She lifted up Balteria Ciercin's logbook, opening up to the page directly after the one where Balteria had stated he had taken a peek into the future. "Rather clever. Ripping a page out and then using the Edge to cover your tracks. Got past Enteria _and_ Kalazi."

Blaze sighed as he reached into his pocket, taking out the page. "How'd you know?"

Akura smiled. "I didn't. A shot in the dark, and you just proved my random guess was right. I'm assuming Balteria wrote more about what was going to happen?"

Blaze shrugged. "Yes, among several other things. I felt that Miki would be better off knowing as little about her future as possible." He handed the page off to Akura, who didn't bother looking at it. "Your decision. After all, I have the biggest say in who my son becomes, I think you have the same right with Miki."

Akura nodded in agreement with Blaze, and ripped up the page without looking at it. "So what did it say about Flare and the others?"

Blaze turned around, towards the exit. "Plenty of stuff better kept to as few people as possible." He turned around again, bowing down to the Darkinarki, and walked out into the city of Ectratin. _Miki Owikamki Aniar…_ Blaze thought as he looked one last time at the training grounds of the Commandos. _And the swordsman without arms that will bring her together with Flare in nine and a half years…

* * *

_

"You sure you want to do this?" Akura asked her daughter two days later as Miki stood in a ceremonial chamber in Ectratin, her fellow Commandos-in-training, Kalazi, Enteria, and the Necromancers standing around an urn that was burning with a white flame. "You know it's not like you're going to be on combat duty for another three years, and it would probably be best to wait at least another year for the Gift"

Miki chuckled. "Mom, you might be right, but come on! I've just done quite a bit of planet hopping and the only things I got for momentos were scars, which I might add are quickly removed courtesy of mirror shards. Let me have my own form of dignity… and a badge of honor for something like this."

Akura nodded in a motherly manner and walked away. Enteria looked at her, and the only thing the elder Darkinarki could do is shrug in a way that screamed "I tried my best."

Enteria then produced from his black robes a piece of leather and dropped it into the fire as Miki stepped forward to the center of the room. "I heard," Enteria said in a casual way, "That some vampire moron on Makai blew the ritual. To be honest, how the hell do you do that? I mean, I've heard about it happening, but never actually seen it!" He laughed lightly at the remark, considering it was almost impossible to outright _fail_, and Miki and the others around her joined the laughter.

Very slowly, Enteria looked down at the fire as a multicolor bracer, about Miki's wrist size, levitated from the urn. Miki knew what she had to do, and she took a breath to calm her nerves, considering this was a much bigger step in her life than any before it. She slowly moved her left arm forward, forcing it through the waves of pure Gen emanating from the fire and the bracer. Her hand slowly inched forward as she gave her all into getting that bracer around her wrist, and she had the strength and discipline to do it. She knew she did.

As her hair, now almost back to its normal length, was buffeted back by what felt to her like a strong wind, she felt her fingers slip through the bracer's opening, and she continued her efforts. _No way am I going to lose to an article of clothing!_ Miki thought casually as she finally got her hand through it, and the bracer instantly turned from iridescent to pure black as it tightened around her wrist to a decent level. And on the front was a quartered cross that was cut into the fabric, glowing slightly blue from the non-Chaotic energy around her. The crowd was silent as Miki raised her left arm up into the air for the spectators to see it.

Then Miki blew the formalities by jumping in the air and yelling out "Whoo-hoo!" The massive amount of cursing by Enteria, Akura, and Kalazi made them all wonder if making her have to wait another _twenty_ years before the girl could go on missions.

* * *

As Morrigan Aensland looked around the wreckage of certain parts of her castle, she couldn't help but be relived at the platinum that Blaze Aniar had given her. It definitely paid off the reconstruction efforts, and it wasn't like the majority of the castle was in need of repairs. At least her favorite mirrors were still in pristine order.

Because the master bedroom was currently being remodeled and renovated, the succubus had to reluctantly settle for her biggest guest bedroom, but at least it was only slightly smaller than her traditional sleeping quarters. As she sat next to her bed, modeling a new outfit she might use while on Earth, she heard a voice behind her.

"Thanks again," said a young female voice as Morrigan turned around, seeing that in one of her mirrors, Lillith was standing where she was. "If it weren't for you, I might still be a monster." When Morrigan was confused by why Lillith was standing in a reflection where Morrigan should see herself, Lillith quickly followed up. "I guess since I was more evenly divided, concerning Gen and Chi, when we came back together, there was sort of a mark, and I'm aware inside you. I guess I can reach out to you like this. It's not a problem is it?"

The fact Morrigan grinned in her usual way that implied she was thinking something. "It's fine, Lillith. Besides, you remember it all, correct?"

Lillith nodded in a solemn manner. "Yeah, but I wish I didn't. I mean, it's great we don't have to worry about Demitri and more and everything, but just look at your home!"

"As much as I'm depressed about the castle, it's Father's design. Now I can make it the way _I_ want. Besides, don't blame yourself."

Lillith smiled in the way that a child would, they way she would without Kirin's influence. "Thank you." As Morrigan started to move towards her temporary bed, Lillith called out to her again. "Considering I'm actually aware now and everything and we both can survive on our own, could we look into some way of splitting in half from time to time now?" She spoke with an eagerness that anyone would have if a possible safe split would work.

Morrigan stayed silent as she lied down on the bed, looking up to the ceiling. "Why not?" she finally asked as her other half jumped up and down with joy in the reflection. "It could be fun… and you still remember how to use my -sorry, our- Gen?"

Lillith nodded and acknowledged the question.

"Sounds wonderful," Morrigan said as she laughed loudly with joy. Using Gen would no doubt be amusing. _Very_ amusing.

A/N: The end for now, but in ten years time, a more mature Miki will settle the score with her own antithesis. She won't be alone, because the three others Balteria saw will be there to aid her, as well as Flare Aniar and Enteria Ciercin, in addition to the cast of "Street Fighter" and "Darkstalkers" thrown into the mix. But Miki herself must face the prophecy and her own failures in Personal Demons, which I'll start work on as soon as I can.


End file.
